Happy Ever After
by 0-MischiefManaged-0
Summary: After the death of his twin brother, George is completely distraught and has no idea what to do with himself, but will his best friend be able to help in through it or will her arrival just make him even worse? George x OC, slightly OOC in my opinion, at least. Oh, and the summary is really rather bad, so please at least attempt to read my awful writing :3
1. Chapter 1

Okay, so this is my first Harry Potter story, it's probably not as good as some of the others out there, or written as brilliantly, but I figured what the frick, I'll put it on anyway. So, here you go. Enjoy ;)

**Disclaimer** - I do not own any of the characters in this story other than Ashley Redford, I (sadly) do not own the Harry Potter series or anything affiliated with it.

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Chapter 1

Ashley Redford couldn't believe it. Fred Weasley, one of her best friends, the boy that was always the life of the party and the boy who was practically her older brother...was dead. Of course, she knew he was going to die someday, but not at age 20, and definitely not at the hands of a slimy Death Eater. Although, however bad Ashley was doing, she could imagine that George Weasley was 100 times worse, she could still remember the look that had been on his face when he had been told of Fred's death, the look of anguish. She shook her head as if to get rid of the thought, then preceded to get up and walk into the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror and sighed at her reflection, her brunette hair was sticking up, her skin was paler than usual, her normally blue eyes were red and puffy and had large dark circles underneath from her lack of sleep.  
'Honestly. I think this is the worse I've ever looked in my entire life' she muttered to herself, then pulled out her wand and fixed her hair, then tried her best to cover up the dark circles with concealer using a bit of magic to help, minutes later she was done and was walking downstairs  
'Mum, Dad, I'm going to visit the Weasley's, okay?'

'Of course, Love' her muggle mother said, smiling at her. She didn't usually stay with her parents, with having a flat of her own, but considering the events that had occurred in the past few days she didn't feel like being alone. Ashley smiled back at her mother then apparated away to the Burrow, landing directly outside their front door, she knocked twice before Ron Weasley answered the door  
'Hey...Ashley' he said, somewhat sadly  
'Hi, Ron...you alright?'  
'I'm better than George, but still not brilliant' he said, and opened the door wider to let her in

'So he's not feeling any better?'  
'If anything I think he's gotten worse' Ron said quietly to her 'Mums really worried about him...well I think everyone is to be quite honest, he hasn't left his room in days' Ashley was about to reply when she was interrupted by Mrs Weasleys entrance  
'Ashley, dear!' she exclaimed 'How are you? Are you okay?'  
'I'm fine, Mrs Weasley...well, fine considering'

'Yes, dear' Mrs Weasley sighed 'well come in! Everyones in the kitchen' she continued, then turned back into the kitchen  
'How does she do it?' Ashley asked Ron 'I can't even act strong right now, never mind convince others I am...'

'I have no idea.' Ron said, a hint of a smile on his face 'anyway, come on' he said, and dragged her into the kitchen  
'Ashley!' a girls voice screamed, before Ashley was attack-hugged by none other than Ginny Weasley, 'How are you?'  
'I'm okay, I guess. You?'  
'Same really' she said, before hugging her again 'excuse me a minute, I need to talk to Hermione' Ginny then walked off in the other direction  
'Hey, Harry' Ashley said, walking over to the dark haired male 'You alright?'  
'Yeah. You?'  
'Yeah..How is everyone else?'  
'Good and bad I guess.' Harry started 'They have moments where it's like they forget what's happened, but then remember again...I'm not sure if Percy's worse or George'  
'George probably' Ashley commented  
'That's what I was thinking to start off.' Harry said 'But Percy's blaming himself'

'He should be blaming that git Augustus Rookwood' Ashley said,

'Well...yeah.' Harry agreed 'I just wish I could have done something...anything'

'Harry, you know as well as anyone else that the only person who could have done something was Fred himself...don't punish yourself for anything'  
'I guess...thanks Ashley, how come you're here anyway?'  
'Well, I figured I'd come and see how George was, and everyone else obviously, but apparently George has disappeared off the face of the Earth'

'Well, it's as good as' Harry smiled, then returned to serious again 'nobody's seen him in three days, at the least...he hasn't even come out for food'  
'well that's most definitely out of character' Ashley frowned 'Which is allowed in this situation though...I guess I'll go and see him' she stood up and turned to walk upstairs to George's room, but not before grabbing some chocolate of the counter. She walked up the stairs, then walked down the corridor towards George's (and what was previously Fred's) room, she noticed that the two boys names were scratched into the door, although the name 'Fred' had a thin line over it. She stood outside the door for a few seconds before building up the courage to speak  
'George?' she said softly through his bedroom door, 'Are you okay?' a small grunt from inside told her that it was okay for her to enter, she walked into the room and saw that George was lying face down in his bed, 'George, I know you probably don't want to hear this right now, but you can't stay in here forever'  
'Why?' he groaned

'Because you have a life, too' she said, then walked over and knelt down next to the bed, she waited a few moments before realising he would not reply 'I have chocolate...You should have some, considering you haven't eaten in three days', he lifted his head up slightly to look at her, 'Come on, George...you know you want too' she said, and smiled slightly, a slight smirk showed on his face, then almost immediately disappeared again 'You know, I'm not going to stop talking and annoying you until you eat this bloody chocolate. So either eat it now or suffer the wrath', this time there was a definite smirk on his face, and he reached across and grabbed the chocolate

'Now, leave me alone' he said, smiling a little, whilst Ashley had a look of fake shock on her face  
'What a lovely friend!' she scoffed, then held up her hands in defeat 'but fine, I'll go', she made a move to stand up but was stopped by George's hand on her arm  
'Don't' he said, his voice breaking slightly  
'Well, I need to go and tell your family that you're not dead, and by the sounds of it you need a drink, so I'll be back shortly' she said, then turned and left to go back to the kitchen  
'So, how is he?' Harry asked once she had entered the kitchen, at this point Ashley noticed Harry was the only one left sitting there  
'Well, he's not dead. And I got him to smile a little, I guess that's improvement' she said, reaching for a glass  
'Definite improvement' Harry said 'Have you seen Ginny?'  
'Last I saw she was with Hermione...who I haven't even seen yet. Anyway, I need to take this to George. I'll see you later?'  
'You definitely will, Mrs Weasley won't let you be here and not eat' he smiled slightly, Ashley smiled back then walked back to George's room

'Hey' she said, and handed him the drink 'I'm back'

'I can see that' he said, and sat cross-legged facing the end of the bed

'So...are you feeling any better than the other day?' she asked, he stayed quiet for a few moments  
'I'm not sure...maybe' he said 'but maybe I'm worse'

'I think you're a little better' Ashley said 'I mean, you smiled...but that may have just been because of my beautiful face' she joked

'Of course it was your face' George said 'It could not possibly be anything else'

'I thought so' She said and smiled at him, then continued to sit on the end of his bed facing him, they sat in silence for a few seconds before George spoke up

'Do you think that Fred's still here?' he asked, completely serious

'I think he is' Ashley replied 'I doubt he would leave without making a big deal over it', adding a smile

'You really think he's still here?'  
'I do, I don't think that he's going to leave until he's certain that you're okay. Or at least as good as you can be'  
'...what if I'm never okay?'

'George, I promise you that you'll be okay. Not tomorrow, or next week, but one day, you'll be fine, I swear'

'And then he'll be gone for good...'

'No, George, he won't. Fred won't even be gone, ever'

'He's gone now!' George yelled 'He's bloody gone and he's never coming back!', then that was it, George exploded into tears, Ashley moved forward towards the red-head and sat across his legs,  
'George,' she said, stroking his hair slightly, he buried his head in her shoulder 'George, everything will be alright, I promise' she said, but he continued sobbing into her shoulder, soaking her top in the process, she carried on stroking his hair until the crying eventually ceased and she realised that George had fallen asleep, and soon after followed his lead.


	2. Chapter 2

I feel like I've made the characters WAY OOC. So, if I have, I apologise :L I didn't mean toooo. And I apologise for the quick changing of emotions, it's just asdfghjk I suck at writing emotion :L

again, disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it, only the character Ashley.

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Chapter 2

Ashley opened her eyes to see an awake George Weasley sitting up on his bed, facing away from her  
'Morning' she said, causing him to jump slightly 'Sorry'  
'It's alright' he said, then shifted slightly in order to face her 'And I'm sorry about last night...'  
'It's fine' Ashley said, 'You probably needed it'  
'I guess' he shrugged 'But thanks'  
'It's okay. I mean, what are friends for?'  
'I'm pretty sure most people's friendships don't revolve around one comforting the other after a Death Eater killed his twin' he said quickly, then came to the realisation of what he had said and started crying again, not as much as the previous night, but it was still a lot.  
'I don't know what to do anymore, Ash' George said  
'What do you mean?'  
'I mean...what do I do now? I can't work in the joke shop now, too many memories...so what do I do?'  
'I'm afraid you'll have to figure that out for yourself.' Ashley said, 'But just because of – what's happened, doesn't mean you should close the shop, especially not after all the effort you've put into it'  
'But...it was mine and Fred's dream...I just can't'  
'George, you can't let Fred control your life. I know at this point it seems as if everything is falling apart around you, but you can't let it effect everything you've worked so hard to achieve! I'd absolutely hate for you to close the shop, because I know for a fact that a few weeks after you'd regret it.'  
'Thanks, Ash.'  
'For what?' she asked, a confused look on her face  
'Giving brilliant advice' he smiled,  
'Yes, advice is my speciality' she joked, then looked at him again 'You'll be fine, George'  
'I hope I will...can I ask you something?'  
'You just did' she said, smiling 'but yeah, go ahead'  
'What happened exactly? I know for a fact that you, Harry, Hermione and Ron were there when it happened...'  
'Oh bloody hell. You're going to absolutely hate me when I tell you' she said  
'I promise I won't hate you' he said, but still saw the worried look in her eyes 'But if you don't want to tell me yet, then it's fine'  
'I probably should. You deserve to know what a terrible person I am'  
'You need to tell me' he said 'Please?'  
'Okay...but please don't hate me afterwards. You see, me and Fred were fighting together, and I wasn't paying attention to all the directions, I killed one of the Death Eaters then my wand flew out of my hand, I turned to see who it was and it was Augustus Rookwood' Ashley wiped her eyes, then continued 'and he cast some kind of spell at the wall behind, I didn't hear what it was because I wasn't listening, and I thought I was going to die, then all of a sudden I felt myself hit the floor about ten feet away from the wall. When I got up I saw Percy and Ron crowding around where the wall had fallen crying and I guessed what had happened. Fred pushed me out of the way.' she finished, then wiped her eyes 'I'm sorry, George. It's all my fault that he's gone, if I'd just payed more attention then maybe it'd be alright again and he'd be here, but I didn't. I'm so so sorry.' she said, then burst into tears  
'It's not your fault' George said softly  
'It is, George!' She said loudly 'Why did he have to push me out of the way? He could have just let the wall crush me and that would be it! He'd still be here and your family wouldn't be upset!'  
'You want to know why he pushed you out of the way?'  
'Yes! Because I can't exactly come up with a reason to why'  
'He loved you. Not like Harry and Ginny love, but friend love. You meant a lot to him, so I guess he thought that if he saved you, it would make more sense than you dying'  
'But if he'd let the wall crush me, you wouldn't be like this. None of you would, everyone is acting like their fine, but it's so obvious that they're not and it's all my fault'  
'If Fred had let the wall crush you, I wouldn't be "Fine"' George began 'I'd be terrible! We've known each other since way way way before first year, do you really think I wouldn't care if you died?' Ashley simply shrugged in response 'I would. I know you preferred Fred, and my feelings probably don't matter as much, but I'd care so much if you had died'  
'Wait, what?' Ashley asked, a confused look spreading across her face 'I didn't prefer either of you, I love you both equally' she said, and smiled slightly, causing him to raise his eyebrows 'ok, maybe you a little bit more' she joked  
'Everyone does' George winked  
'So...do you feel like going downstairs to see the others?' she asked, giving George a few seconds to think it over  
'Erm...I'm not sure...'  
'Well, you have all day to think it over' she said, 'but I'm starving, so I'm going to ask your mum to make me food' she smiled at George and continued to stand up 'Do you want me to bring you something? Or are you coming?'  
'...I'll come' he said slowly 'Yeah. I'll come', he stood up and pulled a jumper on, the two walked down stairs together and into the Weasley's kitchen, where Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Ginny, a 1 month pregnant Fleur, Harry and Audrey were already sitting down eating, whilst Molly Weasley was placing food in front of them  
'George, dear' she exclaimed, then ran (or walked quickly) over to George 'Did Ashley give you any food? Have you slept? You haven't done anything silly have you?' she sounded like she could continue before George interrupted her  
'Mum, bloody hell calm down' he began, smiling slightly, to the delight of Mrs Weasley 'Yes, she gave me chocolate, yes I've slept and no, I haven't done anything "Silly"'  
'And you're feeling better, dear?' she asked  
'Yes mum, I'm feeling better'  
'Oh that's good, now sit, sit! You need to eat!' she then grabbed George by the shoulders (well, almost his shoulders, she couldn't reach) and pushed him towards the table, then once he was sitting down she turned back to Ashley  
'Thank you, dear' she smiled, causing a puzzled look to appear on Ashley's face  
'For what, Mrs Weasley?'  
'Making him smile' she said 'Merlin knows nobody else could. Anyway dear, sit down! You need to eat too!' Ashley smiled, Mrs Weasley was like her second mother...well sometimes she was better than her actual mother, who was always much to busy for her daughter  
'It's no problem. I'm glad I could actually help..' she began, then continued by saying 'and thank you, Mrs Weasley'  
'Well whatever for, dear?'  
'For being like my mother, especially when my own mother wasn't around', she said, Mrs Weasley just smiled back at her, Ashley continued to sit at the table next to George, who was already stuffing his face  
'Merlin, George, slow down!' Ginny smiled, it looked as if George retreating from his room and coming back to the real world with his family had somehow effected them all, made them feel better it seemed. 'You could give Ron a run for his money' Ginny continued, looking towards Ron, who was also stuffing his face with food, the aforementioned boy perked up at the mention of his name  
'Wha-?' Ron said, with a mouthful of food, causing everyone at the table to smile slightly, Ron simply frowned, then shook his head and carried on shoving food into his mouth  
'Honestly, Ronald' Hermione began 'Have you no table manners?'  
'After you've known him this long I think you know the answer to that question, Granger' George said, the conversation flowed like this throughout breakfast, once everyone had done Ashley excused herself.

-oOo-

As much as Ashley loved the Weasley's, all of them together was sometimes too much, especially when the room contained Harry and Hermione as well. She walked outside and towards the Orchid, which was surrounded by trees, once she reached it she walked around slowly, before deciding to sit down, she suddenly had memories of her, Ron, Fred and George playing Quidditch here when they were younger,  
_The four were walking from the broom shed to the Orchard, each holding their own broom except for one,  
__'Oi! Fred! Stop being a git and give me my broom!' Ron Weasley yelled  
__'Well then come and get it little Ronniekins' Fred yelled back, and continued to hold out the broom to Ron, but once he tried to grab it he pulled it away 'Didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?' he laughed  
__'Honestly, you boys are idiots!' Ashley yelled to the three boys who were walking ahead of her,  
__'And why is that?' George shouted back 'I haven't done anything!'  
__'Well, maybe not you, George. But Fred, you are most definitely an idiot' Ashley said, before Fred had a look of fake-horror etched onto his face, then clutched his heart and slowly fell down onto his knees, causing Ashley to burst out laughing  
__'Oh that's nice!' Fred yelled 'Laughing at your secret crush's death!'  
__'Secret crush?' Ashley said, laughing 'And when did you decide I fancied you?'  
__'I never decided, but you did, ah yes, I still remember it now, first time you saw me, you couldn't help it, you knew you wanted me' Fred said, then winked at Ashley, causing her to laugh even harder  
__'Mate, I think you confused Lust with Hate!' George yelled at Fred  
__'You're just jealous cause you wish she wanted you!' Fred shouted at George, who suddenly had gone quiet, but Fred was the only one who noticed this and was frowning slightly at George,  
__'Would you give me my bloody broom!' Ron shouted louder at Fred  
__'Come and get it, little Ronniekins' Fred yelled, then ran off towards the Orchard_

Ashley snapped back into reality and sighed  
'Fred, why did you have to leave' she said, mostly to herself than anyone  
'I didn't leave.' a voice said from her right, Ashley's head snapped up to look where it had come from, and sure enough, there was a pale image of Fred Weasley staring back at her 'Bloody hell, Ash. You look like you've seen a ghost'


	3. Chapter 3

Veeeery short chapter, and I apologise for that. Please please please review and tell me what you think, because I'm not entirely sure :L

Disclaimer - I don't own Harry Potter, or anything affiliated with the company. (sadly), I just own my OC and all characters associated with her. (Ashley Redford, her parents, etc etc)

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Chapter 3

'B-B-But' Ashley stuttered  
'But?' the ghost of Fred Weasley said 'Yes, I am dead, I've noticed. Doesn't mean I can't come back'  
'How has no one else seen you?' Ashley asked, confused  
'Because you're the only one who can see me...well from what I know' Fred said, and added a casual shrug 'And no, before you ask I have absolutely no bloody idea why'  
'I have a question to ask you' Ashley said,  
'Go for it' Fred said, and smiled at her  
'Why did you push me out of the way...?', Fred's smile dropped and he looked serious for a moment  
'Because you didn't need to die'  
'What, and you did?' Ashley asked 'If anything it was my fault, so I should have dealt with the consequences'  
'I couldn't let you die. I couldn't do that to him'  
'To him?' Ashley asked, frowning  
'Err-yeah...'  
'Who's him? Do I have a secret admirer, Weasley?' she joked, smiling slightly, to which Fred said nothing, causing Ashley to frown more 'Who is it?'  
'I'd love to tell you, Ash, but I can't. He needs to tell you himself'  
'Tell me what?'  
'Well, I'm sure I can tell you this, but I'm not telling you who he is...alright?'  
'Alright' Ashley agreed  
'Some bloody idiots in love with you, Ash.'  
'Like, In love with me the way Ginny loves Harry? Or like the way I love Harry?'  
'The way Ginny loves Harry' he smirked 'Which I'm still not entirely happy with for your information' Fred joked  
'Fred, you have to tell me who it is!' Ashley exclaimed  
'I can't, Ash. I told you that at the start'  
'Please?' she whined  
'Nope'  
'I don't see why you can't tell me'  
'Because it's not my place, Ash.'  
'Fine' she said, in defeat.  
'So...hows Georgie been?' Fred asked,  
'He's been good and bad...I've only really seen him the past two days, and yesterday he was a wreck'  
'What did he do?'  
'He asked about what happened, so I told him you pushed me out of the way, then he asked what he was supposed to do about the shop, then he thanked me on my brilliant advice, and all of a sudden I think he forgot what had happened, then said something about you dying and literally burst into tears, he soaked my tshirt, but I just felt...terrible'  
'Poor George...' Fred said, 'Speaking of George, look who's coming this way' he winked, then vanished  
'Oi, you muppet, you can't just walk off like that!' George yelled to Ashley  
'Well I'm sorry! But you're just too loud to be with all the time!' She yelled back, laughing slightly  
'Oh' he said, sounding slightly hurt, then bounced back 'Well if I'm so terrible to be around then I'll just go!' he yelled, then turned on his heel and began to walk back, Ashley smiled then stood up and ran up behind him, jumping on his back 'Bloody hell! You could have given me some sort of warning!' George said, before wrapping his arms under her legs in order to hold her up,  
'I figured you'd want to be surprised?' Ashley said, smiling. 'I keep forgetting you have a missing ear' she said, with fake serious-ness  
'Yet I'm still the hottest guy you'll ever meet' George said, smiling  
'Hmm...I'm not sure, I have met Cedric Diggory you know? And Filch, I mean Filch was just HOT' Ashley laughed,  
'You're completely mental' George said, laughing  
'You're just jealous cause you're not as hot as Argus' Ashley smiled  
'Oh of course. What I would give to look like that git' George said, 'To be honest Ashley, I'd rather look like Pansy Parkinson'  
'Oooh, got a thing for her have we?' she joked,  
'Oh of course! She's just so gorgeous! I can't help myself!'  
'Thought so' Ashley joked  
'And what's this about Diggory?' George asked (A.N – Just pretend he didn't die, he is needed in later chapters)  
'What about him?'  
'You just compared him to the "hottest guy you've ever met"' George said, mocking her voice  
'Yes? And?' Ashley laughed, she then saw George looked upset 'I'm joking, George. I do not fancy Cedric Diggory' then a few seconds later she added 'anymore' very quietly.  
'You used to fancy that git?' George asked, shocked  
'Well, I thought he was rather attractive...'  
'"Rather Attractive"?' George said in a mocking tone 'Blimey, you sound like Hermione.'  
'Well I'm allowed to think he was attractive! I'm sure you fancied Fleur'  
'Not really' George said 'She's not my type'  
'I'm pretty sure blonde, thin and beautiful is every guys type' Ashley said, as if she were stating a fact  
'Not mine' George said  
'Well, what's yours then?' Ashley questioned  
'Don't take this in any form of way; but, well, girls like you, I guess' George said, giving a light laugh 'Brunette hair, not so stick insect, funny, cute ... you know, normal' he joked  
'Holy shit, George' Ashley smirked 'I feel honored' she joked  
'So you should, you're a hot guys type' he winked  
'And you've ruined it' she smiled 'But I'm amazed; I never thought your type would be, well, normal human girl.'  
'Again, what?'  
'Well, like I said before, I figure blonde, thin and beautiful is every guys type - therefore you're type.'  
'I think that was more Fred's type' George joked, then glanced down at the ground. Ashley wrapped her arms tighter around his neck  
'George?' she asked after a few moments  
'Yes?'  
'Where on earth are we going', at this point Ashley had noticed that they were walking further into the Orchid  
'Erm...'  
'George Weasley you bloody idiot!'


	4. Chapter 4

Please review people! Cause I seem to be getting a lot of views for the first chapter, then none for the other 2..so I'm assuming people read the first chapter and don't want to read further on :L

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Chapter 4

'It's not my fault we're lost!' George said back  
'How is it not your fault?'  
'I was a bit distracted with you telling me you fancy dumb Diggory!'  
'And why is that any of your concern?' Ashley asked, glaring at the side of George's head  
'Because.' he began 'you're my best friend, I just figured you'd tell me.'  
'What, so you and Fred would just make fun of me? And it was fourth year anyway, so just forget it.'  
'Sure' George said, then looked at the floor  
'George, I can tell that's not the only thing' Ashly said softly 'Tell me why it bothers you'  
'That's the only reason.' he said quickly  
'Oh my god. I get it now!' Ashley exclaimed a few minutes later, causing George to jump  
'...you do?' George asked worriedly  
'Yes! You're in love with Cedric!' She said, George suddenly burst out laughing  
'You think-' he tried to say between laughter 'You think I love pretty boy Cedric?'  
'Well that would explain why you were bothered by me liking him! And I didn't think it would be the other thing, so I went with that one!' she defended herself, although George was still laughing, Ashley groaned and hopped off his back 'I'm going back, come and find me when you're not being a complete arse', with that she turned on her heel and began walking back in the direction they had come from, she eventually saw the Burrow in the distance and was about to begin the short walk back, but decided to walk towards the woods near the Burrow, she wandered deeper into the woods until she could no longer see the Burrow, then sat on the ground for a while, she began to think about everything that had happened over the past year, all the mistakes she had made that could have spared someone's life, all the stupid things she had said, she then decided to focus on the good things, she was lost in thought when a voice spoke up  
'Hello there, love' the voice sneered from behind her, Ashley stood up quickly and whipped her head around, coming face to face with none-other than Augustus Rookwood (A.N – Aberforth didn't kill him in this story)  
'What do you want' Ashley said, glaring at the man  
'Well, since I aimed to kill you, but little Freddie Weasley got in the way, I guess I wanted to come back and do my job' he said, and walked around, circling Ashley, by doing this Ashley realised he was a very tall man, and she was sure his hair had somehow gotten more greasy since the battle, he would have been able to give Snape a run for his money...  
'I figure I should tell you now that you're not going to kill me' she said,  
'And hows that, love?'  
'Because-' she quickly pulled out her wand 'Impedimenta!' Ashley yelled at the man, causing him to be thrown back, she quickly turned and ran back in the direction she had come from, as she ran out of the woods she could hear Augustus catching her up, she quickly turned her head 'Expulso!', though she was sure the spell hadn't hit Rookwood she continued running anyway, after a few minutes she was able to see the Burrow in the distance, then she ran faster  
'GEORGE! HARRY! RON!' she yelled once she thought they could possibly hear her, she glanced behind her and saw Rookwood was still running towards her.  
'SECTUMSEMPRA!' He yelled. Ashley suddenly stopped running and staggered slightly, then fell onto her back, her wand fell from her hand and she clutched her stomach, where there was a thick red line forming, she could see there was already a pool of blood by her.  
'Not going to kill you am I?' Augustus said, looming over her face 'Looks like you were wrong, sweetheart' he then apparated away  
'GEORGE!' Ashley tried to scream 'HARRY!', she was about to continue screaming, but blacked out before she could even try.

-oOo-

'Mum, is she going to be alright? She's going to be okay isn't she?' these were the first words Ashley heard  
'George dear, she's fine' Mrs Weasley said in answer to her son  
'I can't believe that git Rookwood, bloody wank-'  
'GEORGE!' his mother scolded him  
'Sorry, mum' George said, then continued quietly 'bloody wanker.'  
'GEORGE WEASLEY, MIND YOUR LANGUAGE!' Molly shouted,  
'Yeah, George, watch your language' Ashley said weakly  
'ASH!' George yelled, a few moments later Ashley was attack-hugged  
'George' Ashley said, getting no response 'Geeeeeeeorge', still nothing 'GEORGE!'  
'What?' he asked 'Are you alright? Are you hungry? Thirsty?'  
'No, you're hurting me' she said, immediately George's grip on her loosened and he leaned back,  
'Sorry' he said, smiling sheepishly, the two hadn't noticed that Mrs Weasley had been watching them,  
'Anyway, dear, would you like anything?' she asked  
'Could I have some water, please?' Ashley asked  
'Of course dear' she said, then walked out of the room  
'So...' Ashley said, looking at George  
'What happened?' he asked, confused 'You said you were coming back here, and then I come back and find you half dead on the floor'  
'Well, I walked close to here, but I didn't feel like coming back here, so I walked to the woods, I walked quite far in really. Then a few seconds later Rookwood showed up and said he was going to kill me, I cast Impedimenta on him, then ran off. After that I shouted you, Harry and Ron but I doubt you heard me, then I heard him yell something and suddenly I was just bleeding everywhere, so I guess it was Sectumsempra...then I blacked out'  
'Why wouldn't you just come straight back here' George said, in the most serious voice Ashley had ever heard him use  
'Because, shocking as it may seem, I didn't think that walking would cause me to be cursed'  
'Just don't go back to the woods.' George said  
'But-' Ashley began  
'Ash.' George said, causing her to stop and look at him 'No.'  
'Bu-'  
'Ashley Redford you listen to me right now!' George said forcefully, then leaned very close to her 'You are not going back to those woods', Ashley thought for a few seconds before exhaling  
'Fine.'  
'Thank you' George said, and kissed her forehead  
'So, Georgie, how've you been?' she asked, sitting up slightly  
'I was feeling better up until I saw my best friend dying'  
'I'm sorry!' Ashley said, then held out her arms for him to hug her, he shook his head and smiled, then hugged her 'Love you, Georgie' she said, getting no reply 'Oi you ignorant git, you're supposed to say you love me!'  
'I do love you, Ash!' George said 'Right, I'm going to go get you some food, I don't know where mums got to', he kissed her cheek then stood up and walked outside of the room, when he was in the corridor he let out a sigh 'I love you a lot more than you think I do' he muttered to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

George awoke in the middle of the night, he quickly sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, panting as he did  
'George?' Ashley asked, standing at the end of the sofa 'Why are you sleeping on the sofa?'  
'I think the proper question should be, why are you not in bed? You're the one who almost died'  
'I'm fine now, I swear' She said, then continued on 'So, why are you not in bed?'  
'Too many memories in that room-' he began 'Too many memories to do with...Fred' he immediately looked down, Ashley heard slight sniffling  
'Georgie?' she asked softly, then slowly walked over and kneeled on the floor next to him, placing a hand on his arm lightly, he sobbed slightly, then looked up at her, his eyes were rimmed with red 'It'll get better, I promise'  
'Oh yeah, when?' he asked, scoffing slightly  
'I don't know, George.'  
'What happens if it doesn't? What happens if I stay an emotional wreck and start crying in the middle of the bloody night for the rest of my life?'  
'You're not a wreck, you're just overwhelmed with everything that's happened lately, including Fred'  
'I can't look in the mirror without wanting to break it, Ash.' he admitted  
'You're not your brother, George'  
'I look like him though, you couldn't even tell the bloody difference until...until he left'  
'Of course I could!' Ashley exclaimed 'I've been able to tell the difference since I've known you, you muppet'  
'I doubt it' George muttered, hoping she wouldn't hear  
'I could.'  
'What? How?' George asked, frowning slightly  
'You have longer hair, blue eyes whereas Fred had green, you have more freckles, you're slightly taller, you're cuter-' she said, then realised what exactly she had said and blushed  
'I'm cuter?' George said, smiling at her  
'Oh shut up' Ashley said, then looked down and smiled 'And your personalities helped with telling the difference as well'  
'Explain?'  
'Well, Fred was slightly more confident than you, more vindictive to people he 'disliked'...to put it mildly. You on the she other hand, are quieter, aren't as cruel and make fun of yourself more often, for example "I'm holey"' she smiled, he looked at her and gave a weak smile, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer to her, hugging him 'You'll be alright, Georgie' after a few moments she heard him crying again, she stroked his hair slightly, he buried his head further into her shoulder, after a few moments her knees were starting to hurt 'George?' she asked 'I know that you're going to kill me for saying this, but can I move a little so I don't break my knees?', he lifted his head up slightly, then lifted up the blanket he was lying under, Ashley climbed in next to him,  
'I'm not going to kill you' he murmured  
'I'm sorry, George' Ashley whispered a few moments later  
'For what?' he asked, looking down at her  
'For everything that's happened to you. For the stupid Death Eater, for me not paying attention, for Fred shoving me out of the way instead of letting me get killed, I'm just sorry for everything' she said, tilting her head to look up at him  
'Listen, you' he began 'It's not your fault, none of it, I'm glad that Fred pushed you out of the way, I'm just not glad that he-that he di-...' he said, almost crying again  
'George,' Ashley began softly, she was about to continue before George wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in to hug him, causing her to be crushed into George's chest, he began to cry again 'Georgie, come on' Ashley said, the two lay in silence for a few hours, George continuously crying and Ashley trying to comfort him by stroking his arm with her free hand, the other being trapped. She noticed eventually that the crying ceased and was replaced by light breathing noises, she slowly lifted her head up to see an asleep George, she placed her head back on his chest and his arms tightened around her, she closed her eyes and fell asleep with George's arms wrapped around her.

-oOo-

Ashley opened her eyes to see George's chest, she blinked slightly and tried to remember the night before, she looked up to see that George was still asleep  
'Have a good night, did we?' a sarcastic voice to the right of her said, she looked and saw Ron standing there, wearing a jumper with 'R' printed on it, he raised his eyebrows and smirked  
'Oh haha' Ashley sighed,  
'So, what happened?' Ron asked  
'I woke up, came down to get some water and George was here, then we talked and fell asleep'  
'Hmm...sure, Ash' Ron smiled, then nodded towards George 'looks like your boyfriends waking up'  
'Ashley? Boyfriend? What?' George asked, quickly sitting up, causing Ashley to roll of the sofa and onto the floor  
'Thanks, George' Ashley groaned,  
'Shit! Sorry!' George said, then quickly stood and pulled her up  
'It's fine'  
'Are you okay?' George asked quickly  
'I'm okay, I just need to sit down' she said, then slowly sank down onto the sofa, George sitting next to her  
'I'll go and get her some water' Ron said, leaving the room  
'Ash, are you sure you're okay?' George asked, worriedly  
'George, I'm fine, I promise. Just stop worrying about me so much, it doesn't even hurt any more!'  
'I don't think that's ever going to happen' he said 'You and Harry are so bloody similar, you both attract far too much danger than is needed'  
'George, seriously, you don't need to worry about me, I am able to take care of myself, I'm not a little kid anymore'  
'I know, Ash, but I'm always going to worry about you, it's what best friends do' he said, smiling slightly, she leaned on his shoulder, at this point Ron walked back in with a glass of water and handed it to Ashley  
'Wait, what time is it?' Ashley asked,  
'It's about twelve, why?' Ron said, frowning  
'Because you're awake, so I figured it wouldn't be early...why are the others not up yet?'  
'Oh they are' Ron smirked slightly 'They all went to Diagon Alley for a little while'  
'Wait...that means' Ashley began  
'Yeah, everyone saw you two loved up on the settee asleep' Ron smirked, causing Ashley to bury her head in George's shoulder,'Oh god' she said,  
'So how come you didn't go to Diagon Alley with the rest of them?' George asked  
'Well, I figured you'd be wondering where everyone had got to, and it was definitely worth seeing Ash's face when she realised everyones seen you two, well, almost everyone'  
'Almost?' George frowned  
'Yeah, Teddy got here this morning, Harry and Ginny are looking after him for a few days, so I doubt he saw you, considering he can barely move his bloody head' Ron smiled  
'Merlin, how old is he now?'  
'11-ish months, I think' Ron shrugged (A.N – I made Teddy older to kinda make it easier for me :L Please don't hate me! D:)  
'That seems so weird' Ashley said  
'Why?' George frowned  
'I don't know...I guess I just find it weird.' Ashley shrugged  
'You're weird' Ron said back 'Anyway, I'm going back to bed-'  
'Lazy arse' George slipped in, causing Ron to glare at him  
'One of you wake me up when the others get back?' he asked, causing George to raise his eyebrows, 'Okay, I'll change that, Ashley, will you wake me up when the others get back?'  
'Hmm...I don't know, what's in it for me?' she asked, smiling  
'Umm...Well, I do know that Harry and Ginny were trying to pawn Teddy off on some people for a few of the days he's here, so if they ask you, I'll take over?'  
'Deal' Ashley said, shaking Ron's hand  
'That deal only applies to Ash' Ron said, looking at George 'So you still have to look after the squealing monster'  
'Damn' George said, causing Ashley to smile  
'Anyway, I'm going bed' Ron said, then quickly ran off to his bedroom  
'I wanna go back to sleep' Ashley whined  
'you should sleep, I'm pretty sure I kept you up late' George said  
'I don't know when I fell asleep...it was after you did though'  
'You've probably only slept a few hours' George said, 'so you should go to bed'  
'I don't wanna move' Ashley said 'You have a comfy shoulder'  
'I never thought I'd say this, but you're lazier than Ron. He actually moved to go to bed' George joked, then smiled at Ashley, come on then' he said, then stood up 'I'll carry you upstairs' he turned his back to her and she jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist  
'Thank you, Georgie' she said quietly, practically whispering, he shook his head and laughed slightly, then walked upstairs to his own room, placing Ashley down on his bed, then turning to leave  
'Where are you going?' she asked  
'Erm...back downstairs, why?'  
'I don't want you to go. I don't like being on my own anymore', saying the last part very quietly, but George heard this  
'Why?' he asked  
'I'm not sure...I just always think something bad's going to happen, like when I was by myself in the battle someone died, when I was in the woods I almost died...so bad stuff happens when I'm by myself...' she said, George sighed slightly and walked over to her, kneeling by the bed  
'I won't go.' he said 'I'll be here as long as you need me'  
'Shouldn't this be the other way around?' Ashley joked,  
'Probably' George smiled 'And I get why you wanted to move yesterday, sitting on your knees is bloody uncomfortable' before she could even offer George had gotten into the bed  
'That's fine, just barge in' Ashley murmured, as she was falling asleep, George smiled down at her  
'It is my bed' he smirked 'Anyway, just go to sleep, Ash' he said  
'I will.' she said, even quieter than before, and for the second time that day she fell asleep in George's arms.

-oOo-

_Fifteen people were currently standing or sitting in what was previously the Dursleys living room, a few were talking between themselves, whilst others looked worried. Harry, Ron and Hermione had disappeared into the kitchen to discuss something, whilst Fred and George were standing in the living room with Ashley sitting on a table between the two,  
'So, do you two have any clue what the plan is?' Ashley asked  
'No idea' Fred said  
'Mad Eye wouldn't tell us anything-' George continued  
'Think he was afraid that we'd tell someone-'  
'How little faith he has in us'  
'He probably had the right idea though, Forge'  
'Yeah, one of us probably would have ended up blurting it out'  
'Undoubtedly' Ashley said, causing Fred and George to give her a look  
'We can keep secrets!' Fred said  
'Sure you can' Ashley said, laughing slightly  
'We can!' George said  
'Oh yeah, I remember you keeping the secret about Lee fancying Angelina' Ashley began 'What happened then? Didn't the whole school find out because certain twins told everyone?' she smiled, at this the two males went quiet, before muttering certain words under their breath  
'Fifteen of us will be flying to the Burrow tonight' Alastor Moody announced to the entire room, interrupting conversations 'There will be 7 Harry Potters flying through the skies, Each with a pair'  
'But there's fifteen of us..' Ashley said 'How on earth are we to be in pairs?'  
'Glad to know you're able to do maths, Miss Redford' Mad eye began, causing Ashley to roll her eyes 'Remus will be flying with both George and Yourself'  
'Wait' Harry began, with a thoughtful look crossing his face '7 Harry Potters?', at this Mad Eye lifted a flask that contained something to look like mud, 'No!'  
'Told you he'd take it well' Ashley said  
'If you think I'm going to let people risk their lives for me-'  
'Yeah, never done that before, have we?' Ashley said quietly to Fred and George, although Harry seemingly overheard  
'This is different' he began 'Pretending to be me..'  
'Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry' Fred began  
'Yeah, imagine if something went wrong and we ended up as a scrawny specky git forever' George continued  
'You can't do it unless I co-operate' Harry began 'You need some of my hair, remember?'  
'Oh no, however will we do that' Fred said  
'Yeah, fourteen of us against a bloke who's not allowed to do magic?' George continued  
'We've got no chance' Fred smiled, at this Hermione sighed then walked past Harry, grabbing a handful of his hair as she did so  
'Blimey, Hermione!' Harry said  
'Turns out we don't need fourteen of us then' Fred began  
'Yeah, all we need is a teenage girl' George smiled, causing Harry to glare at the two of them,  
'Right, enough of this' Mad Eye announced 'Everyone who's changing form a line', at this George and Fred walked away from Ashley and stood next to Mad Eye, who was about to begin speaking again 'Now, fair warning to anyone who hasn't tasted Polyjuice Potion before, it tastes like Goblin piss'  
'Have a lot of experience with that do you mad eye?' George asked, causing Moody to glare at him 'Just trying to diffuse the tension' he added, before swallowing some of the potion and handing it to Fred. Ashley had to look down at the ground in order to make sure she didn't laugh, then when she looked up again she saw 6 more Harry's in the room  
'Wow, we're identical' both Fred and George said  
'Dunno though, reckon I'm still better looking' Fred commented, 'What do you think, Ash?'  
'I think you're wrong about the 'still' part,' Ashley said  
'You think my brothers the attractive one?' Fred said, acting shocked, Ashley was about to reply before Mad Eye interrupted  
'Right, the pairs will be as followed!' Moody announced 'Myself and Mundungus, Arthur and Fred, Bill and Fleur, Hermione and Kingsley, Ron and Tonks, Harry and Hagrid then Remus, Ashley and George', with that Mad Eye turned and walked out, leaving the others confused until they realised they were most probably supposed to follow  
'Remus?' Ashley asked 'How exactly are we going to work this? All 3 of us on a broom?'  
'We're putting "Harry" in the middle' Remus began, 'You'll just have to hold on to the back of his jacket to make sure you don't fall off' he then mounted the broom, "Harry" getting on after, then Ashley climbing onto the back  
'It'll be a miracle if I make it to the Burrow' Ashley whispered into "Harrys" ear, who simply laughed, then spoke  
'You'll make it, just don't let go of my jacket', he said, and with that Ashley wrapped one of her arms tightly around his waist, whilst the other hand held her wand  
'Right, see you all in about an hour!' Mad Eye yelled 'on the count of three, One...Two...Three!', once he reached three Remus pushed off the ground and they were in the air, Ashley immediately begin yelling a flurry of spells towards the approaching Death Eaters, after around half an hour there was a green flash directed towards their direction and she felt "Harry's" head fall back against her shoulder, she glanced down to see the side of his head and neck completely covered in blood  
'Remus!' She yelled 'He's been hurt!', Remus quickly whipped his head around to see the damage, then looked back forwards again  
'Just keep him on the broom!' Remus yelled, suddenly gaining speed. Ashley wrapped her arm tighter around one side of him whilst fending off Death Eaters with the other. She noticed after a few minutes that they seemed to be lowering in numbers, until there were none left attacking them at all. A few seconds later they landed on the ground and Ashley immediately got off and held George (Who now looked like himself) up, Remus then grabbed the other side and they walked him into the house, lying him on the sofa. As soon as they had lay him down there was a loud crashing sound outside and Remus left to investigate. Ashley stroked George's hair whilst Mrs Weasley tried to heal his ear (or what was left of it) as best she could, but could not heal it entirely due to the hex being that of dark magic. Eventually almost everyone else had arrived back, including Fred, who was currently sitting next to Ashley on the floor by the sofa, waiting for George to awake. There was a loud noise and suddenly Bill and Fleur had entered the room  
'Mad eyes dead' Bill announced, a sad look on his face, it seemed that either the loud noise or Bill's statement caused George to stir slightly and his eyes to open  
'How you feeling, Georgie?' Fred asked,  
'Saintlike' George said, causing Fred to frown at Ashley, who shrugged at him in response  
'Come again?' she asked, confused  
'Saintlike' he repeated 'I'm holey, get it?'  
'The whole world of ear related humour before you...and you go for, I'm holey?' Fred started  
'Pathetic' Ashley finished, laughing slightly  
'Ah well...reckon I still look better than you' George began 'At least you'll be able to tell us apart now, ey?' he winked  
'I've always been able to' Ashley said quietly  
'Oh yeah' he murmured._

-oOo-

_Later on everyone other than Ashley, Fred and George had gone to bed, and the three were sitting up talking  
'Well, I'm off to bed' Fred said 'Don't do anything I wouldn't do' he winked, causing Ashley to roll her eyes, Fred simply winked again then walked off  
'So, how are you feeling about having one ear?' Ashley joked  
'It feels weird..' George said, not seeming to be bothered by it  
'You know, most people would be freaking out at losing an ear' she laughed  
'I guess I'm not like most people then' George said  
'Definitely not' Ashley agreed, looking down  
'We should probably go to sleep' George said,  
'Definitely, you need sleep, especially after today'  
'Come on then' George said, then stood up from the sofa and held his hand out for her, which she took. He pulled her up to a standing position, but as she stood up her foot got caught under the rug and she fell forwards, causing both her and George to fall to the floor, her falling on top of him.  
'Hey' he murmured, before pushing himself up onto his elbows, Ashley was about to stand up again before George grabbed her wrists and pulled her down towards him, causing her lips to crash against his, he loosened his grip on her wrists and placed his hands on her waist, she wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair, a few minutes later they pulled apart, panting slightly  
'So...we just made out' Ashley said, to which George just grinned_

* * *

__Okay, so, the italics isn't a dream, it's like a flashback (in case some people didn't get that)  
anyway, me hopes you like this chapter, although it's probably one of the worst I've written in my entire life.. :')


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

'Ash' George said softly 'Ashley, you need to wake up'  
'Why?' she said quietly  
'Because you needed to wake up Ronniekins when they got back, and they're back' he said, causing Ashley to groan, then turn over and pull the covers over her head 'Do you want to take care of Teddy for a day?' as soon as he said this, Ashley had gotten up quickly and was halfway out the door, he smiled slightly and followed behind her  
'Ronald! Wake up!' Ashley yelled through his door, banging her palms against the wood, a few moments later the door opened to a very tired looking Ron with dishevelled hair  
'They back?' he asked  
'No, I just dragged myself out of bed in order to wake you up for fun' Ashley said sarcastically, then turned on her heel and walked down to where the others were  
'Morning' Ashley said to Ginny and Harry, the latter holding a baby with bright turquoise hair  
'Good afternoon' Ginny corrected, smiling 'Sleep well?' she asked, although it was obvious she was holding back a laugh  
'I know you know' Ashley said  
'Are you on about you falling asleep with George? Because I definitely don't know about that' Ginny said, shaking her head madly  
'We're friends, Ginny! I'm allowed to sleep in the same place as my friend'  
'hmm' Ginny murmured skeptically 'anyway, as you're the closest, you can take Teddy' Ginny said quickly, then took Teddy off Harry and handed him to Ashley  
'Oh gee, thanks' Ashley said sarcastically, taking Teddy, as soon as she did Ginny dragged Harry off into the kitchen, Ashley walked to the sofa and sat down, Teddy sitting on her lap facing her, she held out her hands to him and he took them, trying to stand up, then falling down, suddenly Teddy pointed a finger at something behind Ashley, she bent her head back and saw George trying to sneak up on her  
'George' Ashley said 'Teddy kinda gave you away there' she smiled  
'I noticed, little git' George joked, jumping over the back of the sofa and landing next to Ashley, at this point Teddy held his arms out towards George, who took him  
'George!' Ashley exclaimed  
'What? He doesn't know what git means!' George defended, laughing slightly, then looked down at Teddy, who was messing around with the buttons on his shirt and flapping his arms around when he couldn't undo them and fasten them again 'This kids a muppet' George smiled  
'Must be hanging around you too much' Ashley joked, causing George to feign hurt  
'Aww. Look at you two!' Ginny said, entering the room 'You'd both make great parents'  
'Shut up' George said  
'I never said you'd have the same child, did I? I just said you'd be good parents' she smiled, causing George to glare at her 'Well you're good with kids!'  
'Ginny, you may as well not say anything' Ashley joked, 'Are you taking Teddy back?'  
'I am, for a few minutes, then you can have the bundle of joy back'  
'Great...' George said sarcastically, handing Teddy to Ginny, who then walked back into the other room  
'I think I'm going to go out for a while' Ashley said, turning to face George  
'Where?' he asked,  
'Not the woods, don't worry'  
'Good' George said 'and try not to be long, please?'  
'I won't be, don't worry' Ashley said, 'I need to change first anyway', with that she walked upstairs and into George's room, changing into grey skinny jeans, a long-sleeved tshirt and one of George's old jumpers. She assumed it may have been one he wore for Quidditch in his last year, as it was red with a yellow stripe across the middle, and was much too large for her. After this she turned to leave his room, she made her way towards the stairs and began walking down them as George was walking up them  
'Why hello there' he said, 'I see you have stolen my jumper'  
'I have indeed, because I have none with me and it's freezing outside'  
'I forgive you' George sighed 'But you owe me for the jumper'  
'What do I owe you?' she sighed  
'And that, I shall think of later' he smiled, then stood to the side to let her past  
'That could be worrying' she smiled 'So anyway, I'll see you later'  
'You will' he said, and smiled at her, she then ran down the remaining steps and out the door, heading towards the Orchid, she covered her hands with the sleeves of the jumper and began to walk quicker, once she reached the same place she had been before, she sat down and leant against a tree  
'Fred? Are you here still?' she asked the open space in front of her, feeling very stupid  
'Where else would I go you bloody muppet?' a voice replied, suddenly Fred appeared to the right of her, causing her to jump  
'SHIT!' she yelled, panting 'You can't do that, Fred!' she laughed  
'Well I apologise' he smiled, then continued 'So, what do you want?'  
'I just, needed a break'  
'A break from what?' he asked, confused  
'I don't know' she sighed 'Reality?'  
'Seems like a reasonable excuse to come visit a ghost' Fred smiled  
'I hate the fact that you're not here anymore' she said sadly,  
'Me too' Fred sighed  
'You could still be here' she continued  
'Yeah, but you wouldn't be'  
'I'd rather me not be here than you! George is doing absolutely bloody terrible without you! He wakes up crying in the middle of the night and can't sleep in his own room!'  
'He wouldn't be doing much better if you were gone, Ash'  
'I'm pretty sure if I was gone, he wouldn't be like this...'  
'Ashley, listen to me, if you were gone, he would be exactly the same as he is now. I promise you that'  
'But you're better at comforting him than I am, he'd feel better quicker with you around, so you should have just let the wall crush me'  
'No, I can still see you two when you're at the house, you make him feel a lot better than you think you do, honestly'  
'But, but, you're his brother! You were far more closer to him than I ever will be, and you know more about him, meaning you could help him get better quicker'  
'I doubt that, we were equally knowledgeable'  
'"Equally Knowledgeable"? Since when did you get good grammar?' Ashley asked, smiling  
'Since there's rather a few ghosts floating around, and it was either talk to some Ravenclaws or Slytherins, so I decided on Ravenclaws' he then frowned for a moment before continuing to speak again 'well, there was ghosts before, they've all moved on now  
'What about you, Fred? Are you going to move on?' Ashley asked,  
'I guess I'll have to at some point, but I don't want to go until George is at least a bit better, and until you find out who your secret admirer is' Fred winked  
'Can you not just tell me?' Ashley begged  
'Ah, I cannot' Fred smiled  
'Arse'  
'No need to be rude'  
'Well if you would tell me, I wouldn't have the need to be rude, would I?'  
'But if I told you it would take away the joy of finding out from the aforementioned admirer'  
'Seriously...stop with the smart words, it really does not sound right coming from you' Ashley joked 'But I'm not bothered about finding out from him! Just tell me!'  
'Impatient much?' Fred asked  
'You've known me for x amount of years, I'm sure you can figure that out yourself'  
'I guess so, but I'm not telling you who it is, Ash. The guy needs to tell you himself'  
'Fine' Ashley moaned 'Anyway, did you figure out why I can see you?'  
'I have a theory' he began 'I stopped you dying, correct?'  
'Indeed' Ashley said, confused 'How could that possibly have anything to do with me seeing you?'  
'Let me finish, merlin' Fred said, smiling 'I thought that, maybe, because I stopped you dying, something happened and you're able to see me...it's stupid, I know, but it's the only thing I could come up with'  
'It seems like a reasonable answer' Ashley said  
'Have you come up with any ideas?' Fred asked  
'Well, do you remember in 2nd year when I was beat up by the Whomping Willow?' Ashley sighed, causing Fred to stifle a laugh  
'I think I can recall it' he said, biting his lip in order to not laugh,  
'Well...er- well,'  
'Spit it out, Ash' Fred said  
'Well, when I woke up afterwards, Madam Pomfrey told me that I'd been dead for a little while...' Ashley said  
'What' Fred said 'You died?'  
'Yes' Ashley said, quietly  
'And you didn't think to tell either Me or George?'  
'I didn't exactly see the point...'  
'How about the point is that we're your best friends! We love you, you being dead is definitely something we would need to know!'  
'Sorry' Ashley said, looking at the ground  
'It's fine, you need to tell George though'  
'I'll try'  
'Good...and anyway, how would that change if you could see me?'  
'Well, I figured cause I've been dead, then I'm able to see ghosts?'  
'Have you seen any before?'  
'A couple' Ashley said 'But most ghosts go back to where their family is, to say a last goodbye and everything'  
'Ohh, makes sense' Fred said  
'So, yeah...that's my theory'  
'It seems smart enough' he murmured, the two sat in silence for a few moments before Ashley spoke up  
'How long have I been here anyway?'  
'About an hour' Fred said 'Why?'  
'George was worried about me being gone for too long incase Rookwood came back and tried to kill me again, so I told him I'd be back soon'  
'Ah yes, when you two got lost' Fred smiled  
'Go away' Ashley said, smiling, then stood up 'I better go back, for one it's bloody freezing and for two it's starting to go dark and creepy here'  
'Alright, Ash. Try not to forget about me' Fred winked, she shook her head at him then began walking back to the Burrow, she was close to the Burrow when she head a noise behind her, she whipped her head around  
'Oh not you again' Ashley sighed  
'I'm afraid so, sweetheart'

* * *

Okay, I updated a few days ago so you should be happy you're all getting another one :D  
so, again, tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

'Why can't you just leave me alone? Voldemort's dead, there's no need for you to kill anyone' Ashley said  
'Oh but there is, you see, when likkle Freddiekins jumped in the way, he stopped me killing you, and I was so looking forward to seeing you die. So I figured I'd come back to kill you, which I did try to do...obviously Sectumsempra wasn't enough to kill you' Rookwood said  
'You won't kill me' Ashley said  
'Oh but I will' he began, then paced slowly, tossing a knife between his fingers and occasionally stopping to poke the sharp end 'You see, I could kill you in a second...if I tried that is' he then sliced the air with the knife,  
'And then what will you do? Once I'm dead you will have nothing to do with your pathetic little life'  
'Which is why I haven't killed you quite yet, I think we should make this more of a game'  
'A game?' she asked, bemused 'You want me to treat my life, as if it were a game?'  
'Of course, Love' he sneered 'It'll make it even more fun for me to kill you'  
'Well, I don't treat my life like a game, so I'm not going to let anyone else do that either' Ashley said, then turned on her heel and tried to walk away quickly, suddenly he was standing right in front of her, he grabbed her throat with his spare hand and lifted her off the floor '_What the hell. How is he this strong?'_ she thought to herself, whilst trying to pull his hands off her throat, he laughed darkly then dropped her onto the floor, she landed in a heap and automatically lifted a hand up to her throat  
'So sorry, love' he sneered, as she stood up slowly and brushed the dirt off George's jumper, 'But I can't have you getting away again now, can I?'  
'I guess not' she said, then crossed her arms  
'I'll tell you what, because you want to get away, and I want a game, I'll give you a five second head start'  
'And after the five seconds?' Ashley questioned, frowning  
'If I catch you, I kill you'  
'Sounds fun' Ashley said sarcastically  
'Well? What are you waiting for?' He asked 'Run', at this word Ashley sprinted towards the Burrow as fast as her feet would carry her, she ended up running so fast she felt as if she wouldn't be able to stop,  
'5, 4, 3, 2, 1' the words he was saying were getting quieter as she ran faster, she was a few feet away from the Burrow when she heard him yell 'Crucio!', an excruciating pain ran through her entire body and she fell to the floor, jerking in pain, she screamed as loud as she could,  
'Much, much too slow, darling' Rookwood said, then laughed slightly 'Hmm...what to do, do I torture you into madness? Or simply let you die from the amount of pain you are currently under?' he said, before a smirk came to his face, Ashley knew that smirk all too well, it meant that he had come up with a new plan, she had gotten that look of Professor Snape plenty of times. She realised at this point he was fed up of playing games, which was definitely not a good thing for her 'Ahh, I have a new plan, much easier and less time to be wasted' he began, Ashley then became more worried, she didn't think he would come up with something that quick 'Avada Ked-'  
'Expelliarmus!' a voice yelled from behind Ashley, who was still lying on the floor and panting, Augustus's wand flew out of his hand and landed a few feet behind him  
'Ahh, Georgie Weasley...it was so much fun killing Freddie, and I'm guessing it'll be a lot more fun killing your little girlfriend here...but, despite my best efforts, I guess I have failed at killing her this time as well, she's proving to be a problem' he said, then turned towards Ashley 'by the way, sweetheart, the games not over yet' and with that, he grabbed his wand in a quick motion and apparated away, suddenly George was at Ashley's side  
'Ash?' he asked, sounding more worried than ever 'Are you alright?', all she could do was nod, and even that took extraneous effort 'Godric. We're going to need to put a tracker on you' he joked lightly, then picked her up, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, and he then began to walk back to the Burrow,  
'Mum!' he yelled as soon as he walked in 'I need help!'  
'Why George what-...Oh dear' Mrs Weasley said 'Put her down here' she said, pointing towards the sofa, he placed her down lightly and crouched next to her, at this point he noticed that she had either passed out or fallen asleep 'What happened?' she asked  
'Rookwood found her I'm guessing,' George said 'I don't know what happened, but when I found her he was about to kill her'  
'Oh dear...' Mrs Weasley sighed  
'Well what do we do?' George asked frantically  
'We wait until the effects of the spell wear off,' she began 'it shouldn't be that long-'  
'No, it shouldn't' Harry spoke up from behind Mrs Weasley 'Sorry, I just overheard, I'm sure she'll be fine soon, it was probably Crucio, doesn't last long ... Anyway, I was just wondering if either of you had seen Ginny?'  
'She went upstairs with Teddy a few minutes ago, dear' Mrs Weasley said  
'Oh right, thank you, Mrs Weasley' Harry said, then walked off upstairs, Mrs Weasley smiled at Harry and then looked back at George to see him lifting Ashley's hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it and using his free hand to stroke her hair, a worried look on his face,  
'Please be alright' he murmured, mostly to himself, but his mother heard  
'George' she began 'Ashley will be fine, I think you should get some sleep'  
'I'm not leaving her' George said quickly 'What if he comes back?'  
'He won't come in here, and even if he does, Harry, Ron, Hermione and everyone else will be here' she said, but George still made no movement 'Take her upstairs with you then, dear'  
'What?' George said a seconds later  
'George, do pay attention' she began 'And I said take her upstairs with you, it'll be better for her anyway, there won't be a lot of people walking around' in response to this George smiled slightly and lifted Ashley off the sofa, being careful to not wake her, he then began up the stairs and kicked his door lightly to open it, once he got inside he placed Ashley under the checked cover of his bed, she sighed slightly and made a small movement before her eyes flickered open, George crouched by the bed and held her hand  
'Ash?' he asked quietly 'Are you alright?'  
'I have no idea' she said, then moved slightly,  
'Try not to move' George said,  
'I get that now' she laughed slightly, then winced  
'Try to get some sleep' George said, then made a movement to stand up  
'Don't go' Ashley said, sitting up quickly, 'Bloody hell, that hurts' she said quietly, in a second George was sitting next to her  
'I won't go.' he began 'And you really need to listen to me more often, especially when I say don't move'  
'In future I won't move' she joked 'I'll just sit here forever'  
'You aren't staying in my bloody bed forever' George smiled  
'Aww' Ashley said, then stuck her bottom lip out  
'That looks attractive' George laughed  
'Oh I know' Ashley smiled 'This ones even better' she said, then pouted  
'Definitely' George laughed, Ashley positioned her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her  
'George?...' she asked after a few minutes  
'Yeah?'  
'I need to ask you something'  
'Which is?'  
'Do you remember when you lost your ear?'  
'I can recall it' he laughed  
'And do you remember Bill and Fleur's wedding?'  
'Obviously...' George said, then frowned 'Ash, where are you going with this?'  
'Well, do you remember what happened?'  
'Erm...' George said, to which Ashley looked up at him and noticed the fact that he had turn a slight pink colour  
'So, yes?'  
'Yes' George said 'What about it?'  
'Well, why?'  
'Why what?'  
'Why did you kiss me? Twice?'  
'I'm not entirely sure' George lied 'It probably has something to do with being a Gryffindor and the whole "Don't think before you act" stuff'  
'So...we agree that it meant nothing?'  
'I guess' George said, giving her a somewhat forced smile  
'Good. I'm glad it's not awkward or anything'  
'Yeah' George smiled, 'Anyway, try to get some sleep, you need it'  
'Bossy much?' Ashley said, whilst closing her eyes  
'Well you listened to me anyway' George said, then kissed the top of her head  
'I love you, Georgie' Ashley murmured  
'I love you too, Ash'

* * *

This seemed much longer in the word document type thing...ah well.

Right, I have absolutely no idea at all whether Crucio has after-effects or not, but let's just assume that it does for now :L

anyway, pleeeease review, thanks :D


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

'_George, what on earth are you doing?' Ashley laughed, sitting on George's bed as he ran around his room in his boxers looking for his trousers,  
__'What does it look like I'm doing, you muppet?' he asked, before pulling a pair of black trousers out from under his bed, then hopping around on one foot whilst trying to pull them on  
__'Well, by the looks of it,' Ashley began 'It seems as if you are failing at putting on trousers'  
__'Oh haha' George said sarcastically  
__'Anyway, hurry up and put them on, Georgie' she began again 'For one, I don't necessarily want to see you in your boxers, and for two, you need to be downstairs in about 3 minutes to get things ready for Bill and Fleur'  
__'Don't lie, Redford, you always want to see me in my boxers' he winked, causing Ashley to roll her eyes at him, whilst blushing slightly 'And don't you need to get ready then?'  
__'No, I don't, the girls obviously get longer to get changed and everything...only bad part is that I need to help Fleur get 'eer wedding dress on' Ashley said, imitating her French accent towards the end of the sentence  
__'Ah yes, I get to see you in a pretty dress' George teased, at this point he had pulled his trousers on and was wearing his shirt, but was unable to fasten his tie 'Um...help me?'  
__'Ugh don't remind me about the "dress" thing' Ashley smiled, whilst getting up and walking over to George, she wrapped her arms around his neck to fix his collar,  
__'You need to learn how to put a tie on right, Georgie' she smiled, whilst making sure his tie was straight  
__'I know' he smirked, as she finished tying his tie. 'Thanks' he grinned  
__'No problem' Ashley smiled, as George began looking for his jacket  
__'I have to spend the day listening to Bill say how much he loves Fleur...kill me?  
__'I have to spend the entire day with Fleur telling me how to walk correctly and your sister telling me to 'not move too much' because my make up will run...I think I win'  
__'I'm sure you'll look fine, with or without makeup...' George said, smiling at her  
__'I think that's the first compliment you've ever given me, Weasley.'  
__'No way!' George said, before being screamed at by Fred, who was downstairs  
__'GEORGE! STOP FLIRTING WITH ASH AND GET DOWN HERE TO HELP!'  
__'SHUT IT YOU BLOODY NUTTER!' George yelled, before looking to Ashley 'Suppose I better go then, I shall see you when you look even better' he winked, then disappeared from the room_

_**Hours Later**_

_'Well, don't you look stunning' George said, sitting down next to Ashley, who was wearing a knee-length purple dress  
__'You don't exactly look terrible yourself' she smiled, before looking towards Bill and Fleur, who were currently slow dancing 'it's weird how well they go together'  
__'I know' George said to her, quietly 'especially considering they're nothing like each other'  
__'I'm not sure about that...they definitely have things in common, but not everything, which is how it's supposed to be I guess, considering "opposites attract" and all that'  
__'True' George agreed, giving a slight nod of his head 'Anyway, enough with the serious talk, care to dance m'lady?'  
__'That was serious for you?' Ashley asked, 'Good god you are immature, but in response to your question I would love to dance' she smiled, before standing up to go with George, they danced for a few songs before a slower song came on, George wrapped his arms around her waist and she placed her arms around his neck, placing her head on his chest  
__'So' Fred whispered to Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron, who were sitting at a table a few feet away from George and Ashley 'How long do y'reckon before they're together?'  
__'Valentines day' Harry said  
__'New year' Ron said, scoffing slightly, 'George can barely keep his hands off her now, never mind for 5-ish more months 'till Valentines Day'  
__'How wrong you are' Fred began 'I, for one, believe that it will be a bit longer...either the middle of this year or Christmas.. probably'  
__'I think you're all wrong' Ginny said, eyeing the two 'I think it'll be__ a long while...George needs to pluck up the bloody courage to tell her though'  
__'Agreed' Hermione said lightly 'First off George actually needs to tell her, then she needs to figure out if she feels the same way, then after that they need to consider everything and so on' Hermione said  
__'Hermione' Ron began, frowning slightly 'Do you just over analyse everything?'  
__'Yes, Ronald' Hermione sighed, the table then dispersed in different directions and spoke to other people for a few hours, before they were interrupted by Kingsley Shacklebolt's patronus  
__'The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming' at the last words, a flurry of people disapparated, Ashley saw Remus shove Harry towards Ron and Hermione, then the three disappeared. Suddenly someone grabbed her arm, she whipped her head around and saw a Death Eater pointing his wand at her throat, suddenly his wand flew out of his hand and he was thrown across the room, Ashley looked in the direction the spell had come from and saw that it was George, before she could say anything he grabbed her hand and pulled her into him, craning his neck down and kissing her forcefully, he pulled away and looked surprised at what he had done, then backed away from Ashley and ran off, leaving her standing there, trying to fight whilst her mind was racing with thoughts.  
__'HE'S NOT HERE! WE GO BACK' a voice yelled after a while, it seemed that at these words the remaining Death Eaters were gone, leaving most of the Weasleys, Ashley, Lupin and Tonks...there were still a few of the guests left, but not many. Fleur was crying whilst Bill was comforting her, Fred was trying to hold Ginny up, as she looked as if she was going to feint. Remus and Tonks spoke a few words to Bill and Fleur, then Mr and Mrs Weasley. Remus then walked towards Ashley,  
__'Are you alright?' he asked  
__'Yeah, I'm fine...I suppose, although almost being killed by a Death Eater sucked'  
__'Well, I saw George save you there, and what occurred afterwards' he smiled 'Care to tell?'  
__'Ugh, it's a long story that I'm not quite sure of myself'  
__'Well, then I suppose you'll have to tell me another time' he smiled, before saying goodbye to everyone before disappearing with Tonks. After that everyone walked back to the Burrow other than Fred and Ashley, she turned to look around for George, before noticing him sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, drinking what looked like Firewhiskey, she walked over and pulled him off his chair, taking the bottle off him, then leaning forwards and hugging him  
__'Come on, we should go back' Ashley said, pulling away 'Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Ginny and your mum and dad have already gone back.'  
__'Where's Fred?' George asked,  
__'There' Ashley said, pointing towards the twin that was walking towards them  
__'Hello, brother dearest' Fred said,'Sorry to interrupt you two when you were looking so in love and all, but I figured you'd need to come back'  
__'Oh shut up' George said, the three then walked back to the house, once they got back the three sat in the twins room for a while before Fred spoke up  
__'Sorry to ruin the 'happy' mood and everything, but where do you think Potter, Granger and Ronniekins have gone?'  
__'Wherever they thought of' Ashley said quietly  
__'What happens if they don't come back?' George asked  
__'They're definitely coming back, mate' Fred said, matter-of-factly  
__'Yeah, they've got Hermione with them, she always has a plan' Ashley said, smiling at George  
__'Hopefully' George said_

-oOo-

Ashley woke up panting, she ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, then frowned when she noticed the bed was empty, she slowly got out of bed and padded towards the main room, where she saw a figure sitting on the sofa  
'George?' she whispered, the figure moved their head a fraction towards where Ashley was, then began to stare forwards again _**Now I'm even imagining her voice**_ George thought, then put his head in his hands. 'George' Ashley said louder, before walking over to him 'Don't be so ignorant' she added, then slouched down next to him 'What's wrong?'  
'Just...thinking' he replied  
'About?'  
'Fred, mostly' George replied, Ashley leant on his shoulder  
'What about him?'  
'Erm, memories...I guess'  
'What memories?'  
'The one where me and Fred turned Rons teddy bear into a spider...think we may have scarred him for life' George said, then smiled 'And when Fred almost got him to make an unbreakable vow'  
'When he was 5?' Ashley smiled  
'Oh yeah, you were there' George smiled, wrapping his arm around her shoulder 'That seems like an age ago' he sighed  
'Well, it was 12 years ago'  
'Bloody hell...we were what, 7?'  
'I'm guessing so.' Ashley said 'We've known each other for ages'  
'We really have' George said, then rested his head on the top of hers 'Anyway, how come you're awake?'  
'Nightmare' Ashley replied 'Well, sort of a nightmare...'  
'What was it?'  
'Bill and Fleur's wedding, when the Death Eaters came and Harry, Ron and Hermione disappeared for months'  
'Oh' George said, 'Well, they're safe now'  
'Obviously.' Ashley said 'But it's still scary'  
'I know, Ash' George sighed 'But after a while you can forget about it'  
'I don't think I'll ever forget about it, George...I mean, I know I'll probably forget about the Death Eaters, but I'll never forget the battle. Never.'  
'No one will.' George said, and the two sat together for a while, Ashley felt George's head falling back against the sofa, then placed her head on his shoulder, tucked her legs up to her side and closed her eyes.

* * *

Okay, so again, the Italics is kinda like a dream/flashback type thing. I'm not sure how many more there is, but they take up quite a lot of space when i can't think of anything to write. Although technically I don't think anything in this chapter is of major importance, I guess it's a filler chapter.

Thanks everyone for all ze reviews, I hope you like this. :D

Review more people! 3


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

'You seem to be making a habit of falling asleep with him' Ginny commented when she saw that Ashley's eyes had opened  
'I had a nightmare, when I woke up he was gone, so I figured I should check on him' Ashley said, looking towards the asleep George sitting next to her  
'Sounds like a good excuse' Ginny smiled, before giving Ashley a look then turning and walking up the stairs, Ashley shook her head at the young girls behaviour, then preceded to try and stand up, but was trapped by George's arm wrapped around her waist, she sighed and leant back against the sofa again  
'Trying to escape?' George asked lazily, opening one eye  
'Trying to get up more like' Ashley smiled, to which George lifted his arm up. There was a loud crash from the kitchen, causing both George and Ashley to jump, no less than a few moments later Mrs Weasley's voice was heard  
'RONALD WEASLEY! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO CLUMSY?!', Ron then emerged from the kitchen looking sheepish  
'What did Ronniekins do this time?' George asked  
'I dropped a glass' Ron said,  
'Idiot' Ashley said  
'Get lost' Ron said, then walked into the other room. After a few minutes Ashley stood up, then preceded to walk up the stairs, George slowly following afterwards  
'Are you stalking me?' Ashley smiled, turning to face him once she reached the top of the stairs  
'If I remember correctly, I believe my bedroom is upstairs' George replied, although he was two steps below Ashley, his eyes were level with her nose  
'Yes, but it sounds far more interesting if you're stalking me'  
'Why would I need to stalk you?' George smiled, moving up to stand next to her  
'Why not? Am I not worth stalking?! What a lovely friend you are, George' Ashley said, then feigned hurt and walked off, leaving George smiling at the top of the stairs.

-oOo-

After Ashley had showered, then fixed her hair with her wand, she walked back downstairs to where Mrs Weasley was preparing dinner,  
'Ashley, dear' she began 'I should probably tell you that the Diggorys are coming over for dinner, Arthur, Hermione and Ginny are helping me with dinner, Bill and Charlie are outside preparing the table, Ron, Harry and Teddy are somewhere around the house, George is supposedly helping Bill and Charlie but I think he's just wandering aimlessly outside'  
'Oh, alright, thanks Mrs Weasley' Ashley said, then turned and walked outside, where she was greeted by George's oldest brother, Bill.  
'Hey, Ashley' Bill said 'How've you been?'  
'I'm alright, considering' she began 'You?'  
'I've been better' he said, 'Listen, Ash, would you go find Charlie for me? He was supposed to go and get a table from inside, but something tells me he's forgot'  
'I was just inside and he wasn't there' Ashley shrugged 'Maybe he's with George?'  
'I thought George would be with you' Bill said  
'Oh, then they've both disappeared'  
'So it seems, but since you're here, feel like getting a table?' Bill smiled,  
'Sure' Ashley said, then turned and walked back inside, finding Mrs Weasley yet again 'Mrs Weasley, what table do you want outside?'  
'Erm, that one dear' She said, pointing to a table, Ashley got her wand and used "Wingardium Leviosa" to get it outside,  
'Thanks, Ashley' Bill said 'George and Charlie still haven't shown up'  
'I wouldn't be surprised if they've gotten lost' Ashley smiled 'George seems to have a talent for that'  
'Ah yes, I heard...you alright now?'  
'Oh yeah, I'm fine'  
'Well, let's hope he doesn't come back' Bill said, then turned his head slightly 'Oh look who decided to show up' he added, then nodded his head towards the Orchard, from which George and Charlie were emerging, on seeing Ashley, George seemed to quicken his pace.  
'Where the bloody hell have you two been?!' Bill yelled  
'We were talking!' Charlie yelled  
'Yes! Talking! It's what many people do! Apparently Dragon Trainers don't get to talk to people often!' George agreed  
'Idiots' Ashley muttered, before walking back inside to Mrs Weasley 'They finally set up the tables'  
'Good timing and all' she began 'I think they've arrived', she then turned to walk into the other room, with Ashley following behind. Once she had entered the room she saw Arthur Weasley talking to Amos Diggory, with his son Cedric standing behind him, looking rather bored. Almost at once Cedric spotted Ashley and walked over to her,  
'Hi, Ash' he said  
'Hey'  
'So, how're things?' Cedric asked  
'Erm, better than before, but still pretty bad'  
'Understandable' he said, a few seconds later Mrs Weasley appeared and told them that they were going outside to sit down. Ashley and Cedric were talking as they walked to sit down, she could have sworn she saw George looking at her, but chose to ignore it and carry on speaking to Cedric. Once they had finished eating, Ashley helped George take plates inside  
'George dear, could you clean them as well?' Mrs Weasley asked  
'Sure, mum' George said as Mrs Weasley left to go back out. Ashley and George remained silent  
'What's wrong, George?' Ashley asked  
'Nothing' he said quickly  
'I'm not stupid' Ashley began 'You've been quiet since we went outside'  
'Well there's nothing wrong, Ashley'  
'And now I definitely know there's something wrong because you just used my actual name instead of Ash. So tell me what's wrong' she said, then looked at George, who was staring down at the sink  
'For fuck sake, Ashley, there is nothing wrong with me! Stop acting like I have all these problems and that I'm so pathetic and useless! For once do you think you'd be able to listen instead of just assuming you're right? Cause usually you're not! And on the previous point, I'm kind of fed up of you never listening to a word I have to say! Just stop acting so much like you all the time and maybe think about someone other than yourself!' George practically yelled, before looking up at Ashley, who suddenly slammed a plate down and walked back outside, leaving George in the kitchen.

-oOo-

Ashley had stormed outside and straight past the Weasley's, who had frowned at her in concern before continuing with their conversations. Ashley continued to walk towards the Orchard, hoping no one would notice her disappearance from the table and would think she had simply gone back inside if they did notice. Once she reached the Orchard she slumped down against a tree  
'Fred, if you're here, I wish for you to know that your brother is a complete twat'  
'Of course he is' Fred said, appearing next to her  
'You don't even know what he's done'  
'Well, I don't really need to know what he's done to know that he's a twat' Fred smiled 'So, anyway, what did he do?'  
'Had a go at me for asking what was wrong with him'  
'What did he say?'  
'That I should stop acting like he has all these problems and that I need to stop assuming I'm right all the time because I'm usually not, also that I need to, and I quote, "stop acting so much like you all the time and maybe think about someone other than yourself" end quote'  
'Well, he's wrong there, you're right a lot of the time to be honest and you definitely care about other people.' Fred said  
'Your brother seems to disagree'  
'Like you said before, my brother is a twat'  
'It just doesn't make sense...he was acting normal up until dinner, then he was really quiet and didn't speak to anyone at all'  
'What happened at dinner?' Fred asked  
'Nothing' Ashley began 'The only difference is that Cedric and Amos are at the house as well, they came for dinner'  
'That could be it' Fred asked  
'What do you mean?'  
'Georgie has never really been fond of Cedric' he stated  
'Why not?'  
'No idea' Fred said, looking around  
'You're lying' Ashley said, causing Fred to look at her  
'How do you know?'  
'Because whenever you lie you look around, and you're looking around now'  
'Well I'm not entirely sure why he hates Cedric, think it must have been something he said at the Quidditch World Cup'  
'But they barely spoke' Ashley said 'I was with Cedric for the first few hours, then you two for the rest of the trip'  
'Well maybe it was something that happened at school' Fred said 'Anyway, lets not talk about my brother and Hufflepuff boy'  
'Cedric' Ashley corrected  
'Yeah, yeah, whatever' Fred said 'Have you told George yet?'  
'Told him what?'  
'That you're secretly a centaur.' Fred said sarcastically 'What do you think I mean, you muppet'  
'About the whole dying thing?'  
'Never' he replied, rolling his eyes and smirking slightly  
'Well I don't necessarily see the point in telling him'  
'He needs to know. Dying is something you kinda have to share with your best friends, Ash.'  
'I'll tell him when he's apologised'  
'Well then you'll be telling him soon' Fred said, before disappearing. Ashley looked up to see George slowly walking towards her with his hands in his pockets and a slight apologetic smile on his face. Ashley said nothing, but stood up and walked straight past him  
'Ash.' he began, then turned around to face her and grabbed her arm to stop her from walking off 'I'm sorry'  
'I'm sure you are' Ashley said, before wrenching her arm from his grip and then continuing to walk on, George grabbed her around the waist and turned her to face him  
'Listen to me' he said 'I'm sorry. I was being a prick before, you're always right and you really aren't self centred, you proved that by helping me...I'm so so sorry.'  
'I just don't get it' she said, stepping out of his grasp  
'What do you mean?'  
'You were fine until dinner, then you went all weird and pissed off at everyone'  
'Well I'm not necessarily fond of Diggory up there' George said, tilting his head towards the Burrows direction slightly  
'It shouldn't matter if you hate Cedric! That is not a valid reason to bitch at me!'  
'I was just annoyed, and you were the only person around'  
'So, what, if we ever see Cedric again I'm going to have to listen to you say all the things you hate about me and point out insecurities I already have? How bloody fun' Ashley said sarcastically, then turned and walked back to the house. This time George made no move to stop her.

* * *

So, I've probably messed up somewhere in this chapter, because I haven't really checked it over again (i'm rather lazy) but I hope you all like this chapter anyway, hopefully you will :D

Review please!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next few days at the Burrow seemed tense, none of the Weasley's knew what exactly had happened between George and Ashley that day, but they all knew it mustn't have been anything good. George had returned to his previous state of staying in his room every day and Ashley had been disappearing to the Orchard at least twice every day. On one of Ashley's visits to the Orchard, Bill, Charlie, Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione were sitting at the table and began to discuss the current situation,  
'We need to figure out what happened' Ron said  
'For once, I agree with Ronald' Hermione added  
'I don't understand what happened exactly' Harry said, glancing at the Weasley's 'And by the looks on your faces none of you do either'  
'I remember Ashley walked past me after her and George had been in the kitchen, she looked really upset, I was going to ask her what was wrong but before I could she was halfway to the Orchard, so I left it' Bill said 'Then a few minutes later George came out of the kitchen, I saw him ask Ginny something and he bolted off to the Orchard'  
'He asked me where Ashley had gone' Ginny said, 'He looked really weird'  
'Well, whatever's wrong we need to fix it' Charlie said 'He started getting better when Ash got here, now he's going backwards again'  
'One of them needs to apologise' Ron said 'But something tells me it won't be Ash who apologises first'  
'I could try and figure out what George said?' Ginny piped in, 'I'm sure she'd tell me, and then we can figure out who actually NEEDS to apologise'  
'That's quite smart, little sister' Bill said, punching his sister on the arm slightly  
'There's one problem' Hermione began 'How exactly are you going to ask her? I mean, whenever she's not at the Orchard she's asleep...'  
'That could be a problem...' Ginny began  
'You could just go with her' Harry said  
'She gets up at like 6 in the morning' Charlie said 'I've heard her leave a couple of times'  
'Then she gets back at about 12' Harry added  
'And that's just to eat' Ron said 'As soon as she's eaten, she's gone again'  
'There must be something in the Orchard' Bill said 'Why else would she keep going there?'  
'Maybe she's hiding Diggory in there' Ginny joked  
'...wait a second' Harry began 'George was fine, up until Cedric got here'  
'You don't think..? No...it can't be' Hermione said  
'I have no idea what you're on about' Ron said, then nudged Charlie and said quietly 'Do you have any idea?' to which Charlie looked at his youngest brother, shook his head and was about to explain before Ginny began talking,  
'George is jealous that Ashley was talking to Cedric!' Ginny burst out 'That has to be the only explanation as to why he was fine until they got here! George must think that Ashley fancies Cedric! And, obviously, George loves Ashley!'  
'That still doesn't explain why Ashley ran off though' Bill said  
'George flipped out at her' Hermione said 'I think I heard the end of their conversation, I just wasn't sure what to make of it'  
'What did he say?' Ron asked  
'All I heard was "And on the previous point, I'm completely fed up of you never listening to a word I have to say, Just stop acting so much like you all the time and maybe think about someone other than yourself", a few of the words might have been different though' Hermione said  
'He's a moron' Bill said  
'Complete and utter idiot' Charlie agreed  
'I'm going to murder him' Ginny said, making a movement to stand up before she was pulled back down by Harry  
'I don't think murdering your brother will help the situation much, love'  
'But-' Ginny began, then groaned 'fine'  
'So, George is the one who needs to apologise' Ron said  
'But how do we get him out of his room?' Charlie asked  
'Now that's a good question' Ron said

-oOo-

'Ashley. You realise people are going to start asking questions about you disappearing to the Orchard twice a day?' Fred asked  
'Well I don't care' Ashley said 'They keep asking me about what's happened and I just don't want to tell them'  
'Why not?'  
'I don't know...it's just, I know they'll moan to George about it, and he can't deal with anymore right now'  
'Do you really think he's dealing well with losing his brother and his best friend?' Fred asked  
'Don't do that!' Ashley began 'I already feel guilty for ignoring him'  
'Then talk to him!'  
'But he was a jerk! He hasn't even apologised properly, or said anything nice to me!'  
'He's male' Fred began 'Sorry to inform you, but that's what we do...we piss you off and then usually won't apologise'  
'Well then how often do you apologise?'  
'It depends'  
'On?'  
'1 – The Girl. 2 – The Situation. 3 – Hotness of aforementioned girl.'  
'Seriously? You base your apology on how she looks?!'  
'Well, I personally did' Fred joked 'just give it time, Ash. My brother will eventually see sense and apologise'  
'He better.' Ashley said 'I miss him'  
'Well then maybe you should consider apologising'  
'What have I done wrong?!'  
'Well...nothing'  
'Exactly'  
'Just tell him you miss him then?'  
'But then I'll look stupid' Ashley said, looking at the ground  
'You won't look stupid.' Fred began, causing her to look up and raise her eyebrows at him 'I promise' he ended.  
'Well, you better be bloody right'  
'You're going to tell him?'  
'Yes, I suppose I am' Ashley said, then stood up 'If it goes wrong I'll be back her soon to kill your ghost self' she smiled, then began to walk back.

-oOo-

'Stupid. Stupid. Stupid' George Weasley said to himself whilst pacing in his room, 'Why did I have to say that to her? Why?!' he continued, before plonking himself down on his bed and putting his head in his hands. Images of Ashley's reaction to what he said continued to replay in his mind, he began to feel the worrying feeling he had felt once he knew Ashley had gone somewhere by herself in the middle of the night. Suddenly, images of Cedric Diggory and Ashley talking began appearing in his mind, he quickly stood up from his bed and began pacing again. The images began to get worse, he saw her marrying Cedric, then the two of them with children. He couldn't take it anymore, he turned towards the wall and punched it over and over again until his knuckles began to bleed, he didn't even notice that somebody had walked into his room  
'George!' the voice yelled even louder, before the person grabbed his hands 'Stop!', George looked to see who it was and saw Ashley 'Why were you punching the wall?!' she asked, before looking at his knuckles 'you're bleeding!'  
'I don't know why I did it' he said quietly, then looked down at his hands, which were now in Ashley's. In a quick motion he had wrapped his arms around Ashley in a hug, which she seemed to return  
'I missed you' George said  
'I missed you too', she said.

* * *

Well, I made George a bit of a drama queen, but why not, it is a drama after alllll.  
(This is why i said it would be OOC, cause I don't think I've portrayed(i think that's the wrong word...idk) George correctly at all, i think I've changed him)

anyway, please please review! Siriusly!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

'So' Ginny began, whilst walking down the corridor to George's room, 'I'll tell George mum wants to speak to him and that she went to the Orchard, I'll walk him there, then Ashley will be there and we'll make him apologise?'  
'Sounds about right' Ron said 'And then me, Bill, Charlie, Harry and Hermione will be in the Orchard in case he walks off?'  
'Yes' Hermione said 'Although it's rather pointless really, George can probably run faster than all of you'  
'Except Charlie' Bill said  
'I've always been able to run faster than George' Charlie said 'So I'll catch him even if you lot don't'  
'Considering you train Dragons I should bloody hope so' Ron muttered  
'and then what?' Harry asked, ignoring Ron's comment 'I doubt we'll be able to force him to apologise'  
'We can and we will' Ginny said, 'now you lot go and find Ashley and I'll get George'  
'Fine' the males all groaned, whilst Hermione rolled her eyes and walked off, the boys slowly following after her. Once Ginny was sure they were gone she knocked on George's bedroom door  
'George?' she began 'Can I come in?', there was no reply, so after a few seconds Ginny opened his bedroom door and saw that he was asleep on his bed facing the door, Ginny noticed that he had his arms wrapped around a girl that was lying in front of him, the girl had brown-ish hair.  
'Ashley' Ginny sighed lightly then turned on her heel and walked off, closing the door behind her 'Oi!' she yelled, hoping that they would all hear her 'The plans cancelled!'  
'What? Why?' Ron asked, appearing from the kitchen and walking to where Ginny was, shortly followed by Hermione and Harry  
'Yeah, Gin, how come?' Bill asked, coming from the backyard with Charlie  
'Because Ashley is in bed with George' Ginny said  
'What...like...asleep? or...?' Ron asked  
'She's asleep, pervert' Ginny said, then smiled 'So I guess we don't have to do anything'  
'Yet' Charlie said  
'Yeah, Diggory's probably coming over again soon' Ron said  
'I can't imagine George being pleased with that, can you?' Bill said  
'Well, until then we have nothing to worry about' Harry said  
'And if we just keep George out of the way of Cedric, then we should be alright' Ginny said  
'I think the problem is keeping Ashley out of the way of Cedric' Ron said  
'We can't tell her who she can talk to and who she can't' Hermione began 'It would be a whole lot easier if George would just tell Ashley how he felt, at least then he won't freak out when she talks to Cedric'  
'So, wait, now we have to figure out a plan to get George to tell Ashley?' Ginny asked  
'I think that's what she meant...' Ron said, looking confused  
'That's exactly what she meant' Bill said  
'But, how do we do that?' Charlie asked  
'We can't' Hermione said 'We can't force him to tell her, he needs to himself.'  
'But that could take aaaaaaages' Ron whined, interrupting Hermione  
'Oh shut up, Ronald!' Hermione began  
'sorry' he muttered, causing Bill, Charlie and Harry to scoff  
'As I was saying' Hermione said sharply 'If one of us "pretends" to find out that he likes Ashley, then that person can convince him that she'll feel the same way and he'll tell her'  
'So, which of us will find out?' Charlie asked  
'Well, it won't be me or Harry' Hermione said 'We're not exactly close enough to him'  
'So it's either me, my older brother, my idiotic little brother or my hyperactive, crazy little sister?' Charlie said  
'Well, yes' Hermione said  
'It can't be me' Bill said 'I need to go back to work and Fleur's starting to freak out over the pregnancy thing'  
'So either Charlie, Ron or Ginny?' Harry said  
'I think it should be me' Ginny said 'For one, I'm a girl, so I pick up on the whole 'liking' thing more than you muppets'  
'She has a fair point there' Charlie said  
'And I'll be better at the whole 'giving advice' thing, considering some of the advice a certain person here has given before' Ginny said, glaring at Ron,  
'What?!' Ron said  
'Never mind' Ginny replied, 'So I'll tell him I know?'  
'Yeah' Charlie said

-oOo-

'Morning' George whispered to Ashley  
'Probably Afternoon, actually' she said, then smiled into his t-shirt  
'Well then good afternoon' he corrected,  
'Did you sleep?'  
'Not really' George said 'I think I did a little'  
'Oh God' Ashley began 'That means you saw me asleep'  
'Yeah' he laughed 'it was a site I won't be forgetting'  
'Hey, that's my sexy face, okay?' Ashley smiled  
'Merlin, I feel sorry for anyone who has to see that for the rest of his life' George said, then smiled at Ashley, who's mouth was hanging open  
'You bitch!' she said, whilst standing up 'For that I'm not speaking to you'  
'Oh no' George said sarcastically 'What on earth will I do'  
'Someone's feeling sarcastic today' Ashley said, raising her eyebrows  
'Am I not sarcastic every day?'  
'Well, yes. But today more so'  
'Ah well, you know you love it really' George said, then winked  
'Oh yes, of course …' Ashley said, rolling her eyes 'Sarcasm isn't necessarily the first thing I look for'  
'Then I guess I've got no chance then, have I?' George said quietly, hoping she wouldn't hear  
'I'm sure I could make an exception' Ashley replied, causing George to look up at her and raise his eyebrows, to which Ashley turned a pinkish colour 'Erm … I have to … erm … go' she said quickly, and turned to walk out the door, but accidentally walked into it instead 'Fuck' she muttered, then rubbed her forehead. She opened the door, but it was almost immediately closed again by George, Ashley sighed and turned around to face him. Both of George's arms were on either side of the door frame, and his face was unbelievably close to hers  
'Ash. I need to ask you something' George said quietly  
'What?'  
'Before I ask, you have to promise me that you won't lie'  
'I promise that I won't lie'  
'Did you actually mean what you just said?'  
'What do you mean?'  
'Would you make an exception for me, or was that just something you said to make me feel better?' George said, getting quieter with each word. Ashley was slow to respond, 'Ash, you have to tell me. Please'  
'Then I guess I'd have to say the first one' she said, looking down. George didn't say anything for a few moments, Ashley looked up and was about to continue, but before she could George's lips were on hers, a few minutes later they pulled apart. Ashley noticed that somehow his hands had ended up on her waist and her arms were locked around his neck.  
'Ash, I need to tell you something, and you have to promise me you won't freak out' he murmured  
'I won't freak out, I promise' she said, looking up at him  
'I love you'

* * *

SO another chapter, I hope you all like this, if I've made a mistake (I think I have in this one for some reason) then don't hesitate to tell me, criticism is alwaaaays accepted :)

Okay, so review please! Thaaaanks :3


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

_'I love you' George said  
_'What?' Ashley replied  
'Please don't make me say it again' he whispered, looking down 'it's rather obvious you don't love me or like me'  
'George -' Ashley said, causing him to look up at her, she was about to continue before he interrupted her  
'Ash, you don't have to say anything. I already know that you don't feel that way about me, I've always known that you love Diggory, I was just trying to convince myself that you didn't and hope that you could like me'  
'George, I don't love Cedric -'  
'I know you do. And I'm okay with it, or at least I will be. I just wish you felt the same as I do. But I know you don't and that you never will.' he said, before turning and sitting on his bed with his head down  
'George -' she whispered, walking over and kneeling in front of him.  
'Would you leave please?' he said quietly  
'But -'  
'Ashley' He began 'Leave. Now.'  
'But George -'  
'I don't want to know, Ashley! Just listen to me and fucking leave me alone' he said, sounding more irritated than before. Ashley didn't reply to what he had said, she simply stood up and walked out of his room, Leaving George sitting on his bed. As soon as Ashley got into the hallway she began crying, she leant her back on the wall and slowly slid down it so that she ended up in a sitting position on the floor, a few minutes later she felt someones hand on her shoulder  
'What's wrong?' the voice asked, she lifted her head up and came to see the face of Ron Weasley.  
'Ugh, it's nothing' she said, wiping her eyes  
'Yeah, it seems like nothing' he said, before holding out both his hands for her so she could get up, she reached up and grabbed them and he pulled her up to a standing position  
'Thanks' she said quietly  
'So, what did my stupid brother do?'  
'What?'  
'Well, its obvious he's done something' Ron said 'he's usually the one that makes you like this'  
'He just told me something, then when I was about to say something back he told me that I should fucking leave him alone'  
'What exactly did he tell you?'  
'It doesn't matter' Ashley said, turning a vivid red colour and looking down  
'He told you he loved you, didn't he?'  
'What?! You knew?!'  
'Ash, everyone knows!' Ron began 'I mean, bloody hell, he makes it so obvious.'  
'So why did nobody tell me?!'  
'Because he needed to tell you himself'  
'Wait, how long have you known?'

'Ronald Bilius Weasley, you tell me how long you've known'  
'- years' he said, murmuring the number part  
'How many?' she asked  
'Well erm...'  
'Ronald.'  
'Technically, I've only known for four years...'  
'Four years?! SINCE YOUR THIRD YEAR AT HOGWARTS?! YOU NEVER EVEN TOLD ME YOU SLIMY GIT!'  
'I'm sorry, Ash! But I couldn't very well tell you, could I? I wasn't even sure if he did fancy you, I had to ask Fred, and he said he'd fancied you since you met'  
'Fred knew' Ashley said quietly to herself, then began to remember parts of her conversation with Fred previously

_'Why did you push me out of the way...?'  
__'Because you didn't need to die'  
__'What, and you did?If anything it was my fault, so I should have dealt with the consequences'  
__'I couldn't let you die. I couldn't do that to him'  
__'To him?'  
__'Err-yeah...'  
__'Who's him? Do I have a secret admirer, Weasley? Who is it?'  
__'I'd love to tell you, Ash, but I can't. He needs to tell you himself'  
__'Tell me what?'  
__'Well, I'm sure I can tell you this, but I'm not telling you who he is...alright?'  
__'Alright'  
__'Some bloody idiots in love with you, Ash.'_

'Ash?' Ron asked 'You look confused'  
'Ron, I have to go somewhere, sorry' Ashley said quickly, before running downstairs, she ran straight past the confused looking Bill and Charlie Weasley, then opened the front door to find Ginny and Harry about to walk in, they looked as if they were about to talk to her before she ran straight past them. She sprinted to the Orchard and found her way to where she had found Fred the first time she came, on discovering the small area surrounded by trees, she let herself lean her back against one of the trees, taking in a deep breath before yelling  
'FRED WEASLEY YOU HAVE A LOT OF FUCKING EXPLAINING TO DO!'  
'What did I do?!' Fred said, appearing next to her  
'You knew!'  
'I knew what? Have you gone bonkers?'  
'You knew George was in love with me!' she began 'You knew and you never even told me! And you've known for a bloody long time, a long long long time'  
'Oh shit' Fred said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, before looking at Ashley apologetically 'I wanted to tell you, Ash. I mean, you have absolutely no idea of how much I wanted to tell you, to get the two of you together and everything…But he needed to tell you himself, not have someone else tell you … even if it was his twin brother'  
'I TOLD YOU I LIKED HIM YOU PRICK! AND YOU STILL DIDN'T TELL ME!' Ashley yelled, before bursting into tears 'and now he thinks I don't love him and he never wants to speak to me again', she then sank down onto the floor in a seated position  
'Ash, I'm so sorry' Fred said, 'It would be at this point in time that I hugged you, but I'm not sure if it would work' he said quietly, Ashley said nothing in response. The two sat in silence for a while, before Fred spoke up 'you know you could just tell him how you really feel? I doubt he'd hate you for that …'  
'But he'll think I'm lying now' Ashley said a few seconds later  
'He won't think you're lying, I can promise you that much.' Fred said 'So. Right now you're going to go back up to the house, you're going to go to George's room and you're going to tell him how you feel, then the first thing that comes into my mind is that the two of you are going to-'  
'Fred!'  
'Fine, I won't say it. But, will you do it? Tell him I mean'  
'But-'  
'No buts. Ash, you can't not tell him … especially after he was brave enough to tell you'  
'I can, I've done it before and I will most probably do it again … and 'brave'?! He's loved me for...' she tilted her head sideways and counted on her fingers for a few seconds 'Fourteen? Years. He decided to tell me **now** instead of a long time ago. I wouldn't necessarily call that brave.'  
'Yeah, and last time I had to hear you talk about how "sweet and cute and adorable" my brother is, don't get me wrong I love him but I really don't need to hear about what you like about him in every little detail' Fred smiled 'Oh, and I'm going to ignore your 'brave' comment, I don't necessarily want to start an argument'  
'I'll try to tell him … I'm not making any promises though, I'm still sure he won't believe me … at all' Ashley said  
'Well, it's good that you're at least going to try and tell him instead of just sitting down doing nothing … So, how exactly did he tell you that he loved you?'  
'We were talking, and he was being a sarcastic bastard as usual, so then he said that I loved it when I was sarcastic, so I said it wasn't really the first thing I looked for in someone-'  
'Possibly not the best thing to say to the boy that is not only sarcastic but also the love of your life'  
'Haha you're fricking hilarious.' Ashley said, glaring at him slightly 'anyway, then he said something about not having a chance so I said I could probably make an exception-'  
'Aw. How cute'  
'Shut up!' Ashley groaned 'So, then I tried to leave and ended up walking into the door-'  
'Genius, aren't you?'  
'Fred I swear to Merlin-'  
'Alright, alright I'm done'  
'Good, right – so I tried to leave after that but he kinda pinned me to the door-'  
'Kinky' Fred winked  
'Fred!'  
'Okay, I'm seriously done now'  
'You're as bad as George for interrupting people' she smirked, then continued; 'after that he asked me if I was being serious or if I said it to make him feel better, obviously I told him that I said it because it was true-'  
'Aw'  
'Fred' Ashley growled, glaring at him  
'Sorry! I cannot resist commenting … especially when I can be sarcastic at the same time and it's about you two lovebirds' he smirked again  
'Just do it in your head then! I don't really need to hear your narration on my life right now'  
'Fine' he smirked,  
'So then he kissed me, pretty basic kiss before you start asking' she said, raising her eyebrows at Fred, who's mouth was open slightly, she then rolled her eyes and continued 'After that he said he needed to tell me something-'  
'Which was?'  
'If you'd shut up I'd tell you! Honestly, you don't listen at all!'  
'Sorry' he muttered  
'He told me that he loved me.'  
'And your reply was?'  
'You're doing it again' she growled 'Although at least this time you weren't technically interrupting me, surprising as that is. Anyway, back to your question, I didn't have any bloody time to reply! He convinced himself that I was in love with Cedric, so then I had to tell him that whatever messed up fantasy he'd made up about me and him in his head wasn't true, then I **tried** to tell him that I loved him repeatedly and he told me to bugger off! Granted it was using words that differ from the clean one I just used, but I'm sure you get the point'  
'Yeah' Fred said, frowning slightly 'Sorry that my brothers a bit of an – well, a major arse'  
'It's alright … I think it must just be your brother that got dropped on his head when he was younger … everyone else in your family is normal, well, Ron's not necessarily the sharpest tool in the kit, but at least he's not a git'  
'Percy?'  
'Okay, so Percy and George are complete gits … but two out of seven isn't that bad. It's less than 1/3'  
'But I'm the best, right?' Fred winked  
'Of course, Freddie' Ashley smiled  
'I knew you always preferred me' he winked again 'Oh yeah, I have a question'  
'Go for it'  
'Does erm … does Angelina miss me …?'  
'I err … I'm not necessarily on speaking terms with her, considering the whole thing about her hating me for the majority of school … I'm sure she does though' Ashley said, giving a sympathetic smile at Fred, to which she got a forced looking smile back  
'I didn't really think she would anyway, I mean, I know she fancied me, but she always seemed to busy hating you to pay more attention to me, which kinda sucked … but I guess she thought I fancied you-'  
'Don't deny it, Freddiekins, I knew you fancied me' she winked, causing Fred to scoff then smirk  
'As I was saying, she **thought** I fancied you but she** knew** George fancied you … I guess she wanted both of us, when she couldn't have either she decided to hate the person she thought was the most competition … hence, you.'  
'Well, that's possibly the worst reason for me to be hated … I'd rather be hated for something cool I did … not for someone thinking the Weasley twins fancied me …' she smirked, causing Fred to raise his eyebrows  
'You should be honoured that someone thought the Weasley twins fancied an ugly creature like you … you should also be honoured that you got to hang around with us, or at least got to pretend you were friends with us' Fred winked  
'You git!' she said, her mouth making an O shape whilst she was trying to not laugh 'You two should be the honoured ones, I mean, I let you two follow me around like lost puppies in Hogwarts, without me you two would have been lost'  
'Well, we agree to disagree' Fred smirked, then looked around 'You know, I don't get how I didn't realise how nice this place looked when I was alive … we used to sneak out here all the time, remember?'  
'Of course I remember, muppet … I think I remember sneaking out here to play Quidditch the most, I can't exactly remember the year or anything … I think it was 6th … cause that was when you two had reeeeally bad hair, wasn't it?' she winked  
'Oi! We never had bad hair! It was always sexy to match us!'  
'I'm resisting the urge to burst out laughing right now'  
'Ignoring your comment, yes, it was 6th year, we snuck out – amazingly mum didn't notice, I think she was too busy dealing with christmas stuff'  
'Most probably' Ashley said 'I can't believe how long ago that was … it feels like yesterday, but it really wasn't. It was, what … three/four years ago?'  
'Yeah, pretty much' Fred said, smirking slightly 'That was the year me and George left'  
'Yeah, and you left me alone! Gits'  
'You had Lee!'  
'He was too busy snogging Alicia all the time!'  
'Not all the time!'  
'Most of.'  
'And anyway, you had Cedric as well?'  
'Cedric was busy with his flock of Hufflepuffs … most of the time'  
'Mhmm' Fred said, frowning slightly 'Well anyway, get lost and go back anyway, its going dark and we don't want Rookwood to get you as well, the nob'  
'Fine, I'll go' Ashley said, then turned to walk off before facing Fred one more time 'I love you, Freddie. Even though you were a dick for not telling me' she continued, causing Fred to smile  
'I love you too, Ash. Even though I know far too much about what you want to do to my brother' he winked, causing Ashley to raise her eyebrows  
'And that's totally different to you telling me what you were going to do to Angelina?'  
'Angelina's not your bloody sister!' Fred laughed, 'anyway, get lost, it's dark-ish'  
'Fine, I'll actually go this time' she said, then turned again and slowly began walking back to the house. For once she didn't care if Rookwood showed up and killed her, she didn't care about what would happen, she didn't care about anything. All she could focus on was George. She wasn't paying attention at all and realised that she had reached the Burrow, gone in the front door and had almost immediately walked into Harry  
'Oh, sorry' she said 'I wasn't paying attention'  
'It's alright' Harry began 'Ron told me what happened'  
'Did you know too?'

'Merlin, so I'm the last to find out?'  
'Pretty much' Harry began 'Sorry'  
'It's alright' Ashley said 'Where's George?'  
'He went out with someone' Harry said  
'Oh, who? Lee?'  
'Not really...' Harry said  
'Then who?' Ashley asked, confused

'Harry, who was it?'  
'Angelina Johnson'

* * *

So, please tell me what you think, thanks! :3


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_After their last Quidditch practice of the year, the girls for the Gryffindor team were getting changed, it was mostly in complete silence other than occasional murmuring from some of the girls, one of these included Angelina Johnson, who, towards the end of her sentence, did not take much care in keeping her voice low at all 'I mean, Ashley, can you not do anything right?You're hopeless!'  
__'Well-'  
__'Honestly, I don't even know why Wood put you on the team in the first place. You can barely get a few inches of the ground without falling off your broom, I would have thought after almost two years of playing Quidditch _(A.N – this is end of HER third year, end of first for the golden trio)_ you were at least slightly talented … although I guess we'll have another year of disappointment ahead of us, won't we? Unless of course Wood finally decides that we need fresh blood … a new chaser for example?'  
__'Falling off my broom still hasn't stopped me being better than you though, has it?' Ashley said back, glaring at Angelina 'I still get more points than you do every match, and I make up for your stupid mistakes'  
__'You think you're better than me?' she said, scoffing  
__'No, of course not. I** know** I'm better than you, there's a difference between thinking something and knowing something.'  
__'Well, obviously George doesn't think so' Angelina said, flicking her hair over her shoulder and placing a hand on her hip  
__'And what exactly is that supposed to mean?' Ashley asked, whilst she grabbed her bag and walked over to Angelina, who was still stuffing her clothes into her bag.  
__'It means that George **knows** I'm better than you, he told me so himself … Fred agrees with him, too.' she said, as she pulled her bag onto her shoulder and the two made their way out of the changing rooms, wandering up the path back towards the school  
__'I'm sure he did' Ashley said, rolling her eyes  
__'He did, you can ask him yourself' Angelina said, before turning and flouncing off towards some fourth year boy  
__'What was all that about?' a voice behind her said, Ashley turned to see the face of Fred Weasley, who's tie was still slightly undone around his neck and his shirt still untucked  
__'Oh, nothing' Ashley said 'She just wanted to tell me how much I suck at Quidditch, how much better she is at everything than I am and that George thinks she's better than me … so the usual'  
__'Ah right' Fred said 'Is it wrong that I still find her hot?'  
__'Yes!' Ashley said, whacking his arm with her potions book and glaring at him  
__'Ah well, you've got nothing to worry about on the George part, though' Fred began, placing his arm over her shoulder and smiling at her 'He definitely doesn't like Angelina'  
__'I guess' Ashley said, although she was most definitely hoping that he didn't. Because if George liked Angelina, she had no chance. Angelina was far better than her at everything, well, everything other than Charms. That bitch failed at charms._

'Ashley?' Harry asked, putting his hand on her shoulder and frowning at her slightly 'Are you alright?'  
'What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine … completely fine' Ashley said, 'I think I'm just going to go back to bed...'  
'Alright … erm - do you want me to wake you up if George gets back?'  
'No. No no no no no, definitely not.' Ashley said quickly, giving him a slight smile at the end of her sentence to try and keep to the lie  
'Okay, I won't' Harry said, adding a smile. He then continued to walk into the other room (no odubt Ginny was in there), whilst Ashley walked upstairs and into Percy's old room. Since he had left the Burrow a lot of things had been changed in his room, for example, all his Ministry books were gone and most of his old school supplies … come to think of it, the only think that remained of Percy's was the desk and his old bed. At noticing the bed she wandered over and threw herself onto it, staring up at the pale white ceiling above her … there were a few visible cracks, but nothing major from what she could see. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at the plain ceiling, her eyes began to droop and she felt herself drift off.

-oOo-

'I swear George just hears our plans and then decides to just randomly do them by himself' Ron said, plonking himself down on the sofa next to Hermione  
'I agree with my idiotic brother' Ginny said, before turning away from Harry to face the rest of the group '…Or should I say, my idiotic brother Ron … just in case Charlie gets confused' she smirked  
'So what are we meant to do next?' Charlie asked, 'and Ginny I'll get you back for that later'  
'Well we can't exactly do much…' Harry said, ignoring the siblings.  
'What do you mean?' Ron asked, frowning slightly between Harry and Hermione  
'Do you all not know where he is right now?' Harry asked, frowning at them all in turn  
'No … why?' Ginny asked … glaring at Harry 'Do you?!'  
'He's gone somewhere with Angelina…I'm guessing you all remember her quite well …'  
'What?!' Ginny asked, standing up and clenching her fists 'When he gets back I'm going to bloody kill him!'  
'Well … it's understandable' Hermione said quietly, whilst Harry tried to pull Ginny back down into her seat, which didn't work out well and caused Harry to almost get kicked in the shin.  
'What?' Ron asked, ignoring his best friend and younger sister 'how?'  
'Well, George thinks Ashley doesn't like him, right?' Hermione began, slightly louder than she was before  
'Well, yeah…' Ron said, frowning  
'And therefore he's not going to wait until she decides she wants to be with him, if she ever does for that matter, so because he wants to be with someone he's going to go after someone who's wanted to be with him for a while, so that's why-'  
'That's why he's on a date with Angelina instead of sitting in his room and moping' Charlie ended, 'One problem with that whole date thing though …'  
'Which is?' Ginny asked, smiling to herself as Harry rubbed his knee  
'Angelina didn't want George from what I can remember … ' Ron began 'All I remember is that she wanted Fred.'

-oOo-

George sat waiting in the restaurant, staring at the glass door. He didn't quite know why he had asked her to come and meet him … he didn't even like her … not in that way, at least. _**Well, what harm can this do? … Ashley said herself that she doesn't like me, so why should I keep trying? It's just a hopeless case, I may as well just give up and find someone who actually wants to be with me instead of someone who I have to keep chasing. Who's to say Angelina isn't the one for me? For all I know, she could be, right? Even if she isn't the one then it can't hurt to try, it's just a date. No commitments. **_George's thoughts were interrupted by the fact that Angelina had now walked into the restaurant and was standing on her tiptoes as to look over all the tables, scanning for George. Eventually her eyes found him and she did a grin that looked far too big … in George's opinion at least, it looked more fake than real.  
'Good evening, Angelina' George said, standing up and walking over to the other side of the table, continuing to pull out a chair so that she would have a place to sit.  
'Thanks, George' she said, and flashed him a smile which still didn't look entirely real _**this is wrong, this is so so wrong**_ George thought,  
'So, how've you been?' he asked, looking up at her  
'I've been good, you?'  
'Erm yeah, same' he lied, and gave her a half-hearted smile  
'So, what exactly was the reasoning for you asking me out?' she asked, placing an arm upright on the table and leaning her chin on her knuckles, then twirling her hair with the other hand.  
'I'm not entirely sure' George admitted, trying to ignore the fact that she was currently gazing at him in complete and utter adoration.  
'I don't know why, but I always thought you liked that Ashley girl' she said, frowning and sitting back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest 'I mean, ugh. Do you remember her? She used to hang around you and Fred like a little puppy dog, practically begging for some attention from anyone'  
'Yeah. I remember her' George said, looking down towards the empty plate that was in front of him  
'Do you remember when she almost lost us the game against Hufflepuff? I mean, come on,** anyone** could have beaten Hufflepuff! The only reason we won that match was because Cedric Diggory didn't try as hard so we'd win … I mean, I know Harry fell off his broom and everything, but if she'd just scored more goals then we would have won! She was too absent-minded to be part of the team … I should have thrown her off when I was captain really … sadly the only replacement was too busy getting distracted by Harry'  
'Why would he not try?' George frowned, trying his best to ignore her slipped in comment about his sister.  
'Wasn't it obvious? He fancied Ashley loads, he thought that if he let Gryffindor win she'd want to talk to him more, which is obviously what he wanted'  
'He fancied Ashley?'  
'Apparently he still does' Angelina shrugged 'No idea why though, in my opinion I think she looks like one of those pug dogs, you know the ones with the squashed up faces?'  
'Yeah...' George said, and gave a slight fake laugh  
'Although I have to admit her and Diggory look good together' Angelina said  
'Wait, when did you see her and Cedric?'  
'Oh, erm, in our sixth year she helped him a lot with the Tournament thing, do you not remember the fact that he was her "prize" in the second task?'  
'Oh...yeah' George said, and suddenly had flashbacks of the memory he had tried hard to forget  
_'Fred, have you seen Ash anywhere?' a confused looking George asked his twin brother, looking over his shoulder and back towards the castle to see if he could see her  
__'No, I haven't, now would you stop pining over the love of your life and help me with these bets?'  
__'Is there any point bothering? The task looks like it's about to start'  
__'Really?!' Fred said, before turning around to look at where the crowd of people seemed to be getting on the last of the boats 'Come on then' he said, before the two set off to where the crowd were. They reached the boats just as the last one was leaving  
__'Well … that was lucky' Fred smirked, looking over at his brother, who was still frowning up at the castle 'Honestly, George, she's probably with Harry, no doubt he's worried about this … or she's studying with Hermione and Ron … they aren't here either'  
__'I guess' George muttered, whilst there boat made it's way towards the centre of the Black Lake, where there were three stand type objects protruding from the water, each containing students from the three different schools. Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the Hogwarts stand and saw Harry, who was currently listening intently to what Dumbledore was saying,  
__'The competitors have precisely one hour to recover something that has been taken from them. On the count of three, one … two … three!' Dumbledore said loudly, at this the four competitors leaped into the water, well, all other than Harry, who had begun thrashing around and was therefore shoved in by Moody. Now all there was to do was wait.  
__'Fred?' George spoke up, half an hour through the task, causing his brothers head to snap up from looking at the dark water beneath him  
__'What, George?' he sighed, looking back down again  
__'You don't think, that the thing Diggory needs to save … you don't think it's Ashley?'  
__'Why on earth would it be Ashley?' Fred frowned, looking up at him again  
__'Well, they have to recover something that someone has taken that's important to them..'  
__'I doubt Ash is that important to Hufflepuff boy'  
__'I suppose' George said. The last half hour of the tournament was tense, people were expecting someone to appear out of the water any minute, a mere minute before the hour was up, Cedric Diggory appeared from the water. Clinging on to him was Ashley.  
__'George…' Fred said, looking worriedly at his twin brother  
__'It's fine … not like I care, right?' he said, giving a nervous laugh afterwards 'It's not as if I have a problem with it …'  
__'Sorry, George' Fred sighed, clapping a hand on his brothers back. As soon as everyone had gotten back to the castle, they immediately dispersed into their common rooms. The entirety of the Gryffindor house was currently spread all over the Gryffindor common room, obviously talking about the previous task that the famous Harry Potter had completed. The only people who were not joining in with these conversations were Fred and George, the latter of whom had gone to bed as soon as he had stepped through the Fat Lady's portrait._

'I bet she was only Cedric's prize because she wanted the attention … I heard she tried to snog him in the prefects bathroom once' Angelina said, sniggering slightly  
'You know what, Angelina?' George said,  
'What?'  
'You're just … mean' he said 'All you've done so far is bitch and moan about Ashley, and you know what? It gets annoying after about 3 seconds. It just makes you sound like you're completely jealous of her!'  
'Me, be jealous of that thing? Have you drunk too much Firewhiskey by any chance, George?' she smirked  
'You should be jealous, actually. Ashley is far better than you in every aspect, she's a nicer person, she's funnier, she's better at Quidditch, she's a better friend and she's actually beautiful, unlike you' George said, then pushed his chair away from the table and got to his feet, he walked straight past Angelina without even glancing towards her and was about to open the door  
'Wait, George!' Angelina said, standing up from her own chair and turning to face him  
'What?' he sighed, turning to face her  
'Do you like her?'  
'What?' George frowned,  
'Do you like Ashley?' she said, rolling her eyes  
'Yes, I do … if that wasn't plainly obvious from all the stuff I just said that made me look like an idiot'  
'Well then you should probably consider telling her that… I mean, it's been completely and utterly obvious that she's head over heels for you since fifth year … probably before that, actually, considering whenever I mentioned you to annoy her she used to go bright red and become more clumsy than usual … hard as that is to imagine'  
'Huh?' George frowned, rubbing his head slightly  
'Did you not know that she liked you?' Angelina said, her eyes widening slightly  
'No. I didn't.' George said, then walked out of the restaurant, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Okay, so another chapter for all of you.  
One comment though, if you don't like it don't read it.

Anyway, thanks for reading :)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After George had left the restaurant (and Angelina) he wasn't quite sure where exactly he wanted to go, he certainly wasn't keen on going back to the Burrow quite yet, especially since Ashley could possibly still be awake … well, she definitely would be, she stayed awake for hours. He wandered around Diagon Alley for a while before he came across his own shop, which was currently filled with younger children and their parents whilst Lee Jordan was behind the till, trying to deal with them all at one time. Luckily for George, Lee had offered to look after the store for a while, but apparently he wasn't doing as well as he thought he would, considering the store should have been closed already, but Lee had offered, he had obviously known that George probably wouldn't be able to deal with it for a while … this fact got him thinking about whether he would ever live in the flat above the shop again. He hadn't set a foot in there since Fred had died. Maybe one day he'd be able to go in there, but for now it was not even an option he could consider. He'd probably just collapse as soon as he walked in and saw all Fred's things strewn across the room, shoes, jackets, shirts etc.  
It was still difficult accepting the fact that his twin brother had gone and that he would never be coming back, and it still felt odd for him that there was no one around to finish his sentences anymore. George quickly turned away from the shop and made his way down the alleyway, passing shops that were newly opened and ones that still had broken windows and didn't look as if they would be re-opened any time soon. He was almost certain that he passed Angelina at some point, but he didn't really want to stop to check, definitely not if it meant he had to have another conversation with her, the few minutes this evening were enough for a few more years, at the very least. He knew that he would eventually have to go back to the Burrow and face whatever hell was waiting for him there; either from his sister, his mother, Ashley or all three … maybe not so much from the latter though, although from what he had just heard from Angelina, she may be the one who was most irritated and upset over this … whatever it was, he'd had with Angelina.  
Unless Angelina was lying to him, which wasn't a possibility he could erase from his mind, which was now swimming with the possibility's of if it was the truth that she had told him or if it had been a lie to get him to seem vulnerable. Angelina seemed to feed off of the men who were more vulnerable or open than any other type of guy, somehow she got them to trust her, did whatever she needed to do to screw their lives up completely, then leave.  
George had seen it first hand with both Lee and Fred, she'd messed up their friendship completely in 6th year by dating the both of them at the same time, of course, she didn't tell them, they eventually learned of this themselves … well, they had learned it from Ashley, who wasn't at all surprised when she'd heard what Angelina was doing, after all, when you hate someone you always expect the worse from them. It was at this point George realised if he walked much further he'd be in Knockturn Alley … not a place someone wants to go at night, least of all alone. He glanced towards his watch, 10 p.m. He could have sworn it wasn't that late, it would have made it 4 hours since he'd left Angelina in the restaurant, and all he'd done since then was think and walk … time had passed a lot quicker than he thought it would have. He apparated back to the Burrow and landed in the field outside, meaning that he was a good 5 minutes walk away from his front door. He slowly started to walk forwards and began to think about what Angelina had said again, could she have been telling the truth? Because if she was, then maybe, just maybe, everything could work out for him … almost. He turned his walk into a slight jog, and a few minutes later he reached the door, he opened it and walked into the burrow, slamming the door behind him and throwing his jacket on the back of the sofa before leaning on the back of it, facing the seat below him whilst clenching and un-clenching his fists.  
'Well, well, brother dearest. Look who's finally got home' Ginny said, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest, whilst raising her eyebrows at him.  
'What have I done?' George groaned, not looking up at his little sister, he knew when he did he'd end up spilling everything to her, literally everything.  
'Going on a date with Angelina? Really, George? Do you not remember how mean she was? Not just to Ashley, but to everyone on the team, especially after Oliver left'  
'Yes. And?' he said, tilting his head up the smallest possible amount so that he would be able to look at her 'I was just wondering if she'd changed, it's possible for people to do that, you know? Weird, right?'  
'Do you even like her?' she questioned, pretending that she hadn't heard his sarcastic comment.  
'Well … I … erm'  
'That's a no'  
'So?' he asked, sighing again  
'So why go out with her if you don't even like her?'  
'Because I'm not going to stay completely alone forever, Ginny. And it's quite embarrassing admitting that your little sister has someone before you do' George said, running his fingers through his hair 'Guess I know how Charlie feels' he muttered quietly  
'So go after Ashley!' Ginny said, waving her arms slightly  
'Wait … what? Why would I want to go after Ashley? She's my friend, Ginny. Just a friend, which is a fact she's made quite clear over the years' George said quickly, muttering the last part under his breath, causing Ginny to raise her eyebrows at him once more,  
'It's pretty obvious you like her, George', he stayed silent at this, he knew that there would be no point in arguing with her at all, she'd know he was lying in a second, then she'd hex him for lying to her in the first place. 'The fact that you have absolutely no sarcastic remark for once means yes. So ask her to go out sometime, I doubt she'd say no … not to you, anyway.'  
'Why not to me?'  
'Because you're George. You're her best friend, the guy that's always there for her, the one she's snogged about 20 times in the last 5 years … you're obviously something to her, George, and she's obviously something to you. Maybe the reason you two haven't worked out with any other person is because you're meant to be with each other'  
'Okay, so we might go out, then we date and then the chances are that we're going to break up, so what happens after that, huh? It'll just be awkward whenever we speak to each other so we'll just end up never speaking, therefore in mere seconds I've destroyed the friendship that has taken fourteen years for me to build up'  
'That's a chance you would have to take if you wanted to date her. Because it might just work out … and anyway, since when have you been the type of person to over think things? Usually you're the one jumping in feet first, not the one dragging behind.'  
'Why would she not tell me that she liked me?!' George said angrily, ignoring what his sister had said and slamming his palm down on the back of the sofa and hanging his head again  
'Did you actually give her a chance too?' Ginny asked, sighing slightly and resting her side against the doorframe again  
'Well … I er - …'  
'That's a massive no' Ginny said, before rolling her eyes slightly 'Honestly, you're a complete moron sometimes … along with the rest of the male population, I suppose'  
'Why?!' George asked, looking up at his sister with wide eyes  
'If you'd have given her a chance to explain her feelings towards you then you would probably have just been out on a date with Ashley instead of her mortal enemy who just so happens to also be your brothers ex girlfriend. So, stop acting like a four year old and go and see her! You're supposed to be twenty and you're still acting as if you're at Hogwarts with all this relationship crap!' Ginny said, to which George stayed silent once again, simply staring at the seat again 'I'm right, George … and you know I am' Ginny added quietly, before she slowly turned away from him and walked quietly out of the room, leaving George completely alone with his thoughts, the fact that he seemed to be having multiple ones at once was making it even harder to just focus on one.

-oOo-

A few minutes later he had begun to think about the fact that Ashley hadn't told him she liked him. Or that she had liked him at some point or whatever the situation was between himself and her at the current moment in time. _**Maybe she likes me, but she doesn't want to actually be with me?**_ he thought, before deciding that he needed to know for himself what she thought about him, because thinking of her reaction was only make him feel more nervous about asking her. So it was now or never. He quickly pushed himself off the back of the couch and turned on the spot so that he was facing the stairs, he took a deep breath before he sprinted up them and towards the room that used to be owned by his older brother, Percy. Once he had reached the door he threw it open, quickly stepping inside the room and slamming the door behind him, an action which caused the door and a bookcase leaning against the wall to shudder, along with the windows.  
'George?! What the hell!' Ashley said, lifting her head up from a book  
'Why didn't you tell me?!' he exclaimed, pacing back and forth quickly whilst running his fingers through his hair  
'Why didn't I tell you what?' she asked, turning around in her chair to face him and frowning slightly  
'That you liked me!' he yelled 'You made me feel like a complete idiot, just standing there and confessing my bloody love for you, then you just left me alone!'  
'Because you told me to leave … I'm sure you remember it quite clearly.'  
'That's not the point!' he said, rubbing his temple and sighing again  
'Then what is the point, George?' Ashley began, standing up and crossing her arms across her chest 'You told me how you felt, I tried to tell you the same but when I did you told me to "fucking leave you alone", so, I'm sorry, but how again is that any of my fault?'  
'It's not' George confessed, before sitting on the floor cross-legged with his head in his hands 'I'm more pissed off at myself'  
'Why?' Ashley asked, her tone of voice back to it's usual level once more. She walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, she couldn't help but notice how young he looked sitting cross legged on the floor. She was reminded of when they were little and he'd done something wrong and gotten yelled at by his mother, he'd always used to sit cross-legged on the floor every time he knew he'd made a mistake … although she hadn't seen him do it since he was about eight years old.  
'Because I keep blaming you for everything' he said, lifting his head up so that he was able to face her,  
'It's fine, George. Lately most things are turning out to be my fault, it's not a big deal … guess I've gotten used to it' she said, giving a slight laugh  
'They're not, Ash' George said 'Nothing is ever your fault'  
'There's a few things'  
'Well they don't matter' George said, then took her hand in his 'Ash … I need to ask you something, basically so I can figure out what's going on right now, cause I'm supposing that you're just as confused as I am'  
'Go for it'  
'Do you like me, at all?'  
'George-' Ashley began, looking at him  
'I don't know why I asked, of course you don't, I'm just being stupid … sorry, I'll go' he said, then made a move to stand up before Ashley pulled him back down again, then quickly leant in and kissed him  
'What does that mean?' George murmured, not taking his eyes from hers  
'It means that I love you, even though you're a complete muppet'  
'Seriously?' George said, a grin spreading across his face  
'Seriously, you're a muppet' she smirked  
'I love you too' he began, ignoring her insult, then leaning forward and kissed her 'And right now the logical thing for me to say would probably be something about not lying to each other, right?'  
'Yeah … about that' Ashley began  
'Why am I suddenly worried again …' George said, sighing slightly  
'It's nothing serious exactly' she replied, biting her bottom lip  
'Right …'  
'Well, basically … erm … you know in 2nd year, the Whomping Willow beat the crap out of me?'  
'Of course I remember that, I was worried about you for ages' George said, turning a slight pink colour  
'Well, when I was in the hospital wing afterwards, Madam Pomfrey told me that after I'd been hit by it, I'd been sort of dead for a while … but they managed to do some random kind of healing spell and fix it, obviously' she said, then gestured towards herself  
'Wait, what? You've been dead before?!' George asked, his eyes getting wider and wider  
'Yeah …' Ashley said, looking down at the floor 'I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I had to tell someone else to see what your reaction would be like … it's pretty much what I expected, I suppose'  
'So, who else did you tell…?'  
'Erm … this is the tricky part'  
'Just tell me'  
'Fred.'  
'Oh, what year did you tell him?' George said,  
'We weren't exactly at Hogwarts when I told him...' Ashley said, biting her lip slightly  
'Right … so, was it before the battle? Well, it kinda has to be, doesn't it...'  
'Well … not exactly'  
'What?' George asked, frowning slightly 'You're joking, right? Please tell me that you're joking, or I might have to take you to St. Mungo's to make sure you weren't hit by some non-verbal spell and you've got brain damage'  
'I wish I was joking …' she muttered  
'Wait, so … what? You can … no, still don't quite understand.'  
'I erm … I can see ghosts, sometimes anyway … I know it's not exactly normal, I know, but I swear to you that I'm not lying-' Ashley began, holding onto his hand tighter  
'I think you do need to go to St. Mungo's …' George frowned  
'I'm not mental!' she exclaimed  
'Well, then are you completely stupid or something?' George asked,  
'What?' Ashley said, looking up at him  
'Are you a complete moron?' he said, frowning at her 'Are you really that insensitive that you're already pretending that my brothers not dead and that we can joke about it?'  
'George, I'm not joking-' Ashley said  
'Of course you fucking are!' he yelled, standing up and pacing slightly again, 'You can't see Ghosts unless they stay behind in this life because they're afraid of death or something, right? Like Sir Nicholas, he told you in 7th year that ghosts only stayed if they were scared of death, and I know for a complete fact that Fred wasn't scared of death, he wasn't scared of anything … other than Ginny and her curses, course … and yours, most probably' he muttered the last part under his breath slightly  
'George, I can see him. I never said that he was scared of death, or scared of anything. From what I've found out by researching over the years – or what Hermione found out, should I say - some ghosts stay behind to make sure there families are alright without them around, then they stay to make sure that if they're not then they will be. I didn't purposely mean to find him, obviously. I was just walking around the Orchard and I sat down by a tree and he just appeared next to me and started talki-'  
'No, you didn't see him, you didn't hear him. You just can't have, it's not possible, even for wizards. You're just being … I don't know what you are…mental seems like a good description for you at this moment' George said, then made his way towards the door before turning back to Ashley, who was still sitting on the floor and looking up at him, looking as if she was going to burst into tears at any moment 'And you know what? I think I just realised, I don't want to be with you. Ever. Just – just leave me alone.' he added, before walking out and slamming the door behind him.  
'George, I'm sorry!' Ashley said, quickly getting up and running out into the hallway after him. He was currently stalking down the corridor with his head down and his hands in his pockets. Ashley ran up behind him and grabbed the back of his shirt, 'George' she said quietly  
'Just go' he muttered, then quickly moved forwards so that her hand was ripped away from his shirt,  
'I'm sorry' she murmured, whilst he continued walking away without even a glance back towards her.

* * *

Okay another chapter :)  
Please tell me what you think and thanks for reading this! I think this chapters a bit longer than some of the others, but I'm not quite sure. :L


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Ashley sat in her room – or Percy's old room – practically glued to her seat whilst staring out of the window, it was currently pitch black outside other than the odd star that had appeared over the last few hours. George had not spoken to Ashley since she had admitted everything to him. Causing her to begin having thoughts about leaving the Burrow completely and going back home to her parents, or even leaving the country for a while. She knew Charlie Weasley had gone to Romania to study with Dragons and then begin to work with them, so perhaps she could go to a different country in order to study whatever she wanted to do. It couldn't hurt to have open options … right? She quickly stood up from the chair and walked out the door, slowly making her way down the stairs and towards the room where she knew Mrs Weasley would probably be.  
'Erm … Mrs Weasley?' she said, whilst entering into the kitchen  
'Yes, dear?' she asked, glancing towards her  
'I've been thinking' she began, sitting down at the table 'I mean, me and George aren't exactly on speaking terms right now, and I pretty much doubt that we will be again, so I've been thinking that maybe I should just move out of here, I think if I did it would make the situation far less awkward for everyone and I think George would be much better off with me gone'  
'Well, where were you thinking that you could go?' Mrs Weasley asked, looking at her in concern  
'I've been thinking about going to Australia for a while, maybe Italy or somewhere … I guess I just want to get away from everything … at least for a little while'  
'You're moving to a different country?!' she asked in disbelief  
'Well, yes, I suppose at some point … hopefully'  
'I know you're probably fed up of hearing this, but that Death Eater is still after you, you can't leave!'  
'I think I'll be able to look after myself, Mrs Weasley' Ashley insisted 'But thank you for the offer to stay living her for a while longer, it really means a lot to me. However, I will have to gratefully decline. I'll be out of here by the next week, possibly two … I will miss you all though' she added with a slight smile, before turning and walking out of the room. As she was leaving Mrs Weasley craned her neck around the door and saw Ashley's retreating figure towards the stairs, 'Charlie!' Mrs Weasley yelled once she was sure that Ashley would not be able to hear, which was confirmed by the closing of a bedroom door.  
'Mum?' he asked, poking his head around the door frame  
'Will you get the others, dear. I have to tell you all something'  
'Okay' Charlie said, frowning slightly before disappearing from the door. A few minutes later everyone other than George and Bill (Who had now gone back to Shell cottage to see Fleur) walked into the kitchen  
'What's wrong mum?' Ginny asked  
'I'm afraid it's Ashley … again' she said, sitting down  
'What's happened now?' Ron asked, sighing slightly  
'She's decided that she's moving out, she seems to think it will help to make it less awkward for everyone and that George will feel better once she's gone'  
'Well that's rather stupid of her' Hermione said 'The only reason George started getting better in the first place was because of her … even though she can't see it herself'  
'I agree' Mrs Weasley said 'But for some reason they've stopped talking again, Merlin knows why this time'  
'So, George's messed up again?' Charlie said  
'Most probably' Ginny said 'It was him last time … right? So it's more than likely to be him this time as well'  
'Well, what do we do?' Harry asked  
'There's not much we can do really, mate' Ron said 'If we don't know what's happened-'  
'Then there's nothing we're actually able to do' Hermione ended  
'We have to at least try to stop her moving out!' Ginny exclaimed 'We can't let her go somewhere by herself while Rookwoods still going to get her! He'll kill her!'  
'Letting her move out would be like leaving Hermione locked in a minuscule room with Bellatrix Lestrange' Charlie said 'Completely and utterly stupid'  
'I agree with you two' Harry said towards Ginny and Charlie 'We have to stop her moving out'  
'And how exactly do you suppose we do that?' Hermione asked 'Technically she's an adult, even if she doesn't act like one' she muttered, before continuing 'we can't do anything to stop her doing what she wants … Like I said, she's an adult, and even if she wasn't she's too stubborn to listen to anyone anyway'  
'We can still try' Ron said  
'Well in that case first things first' Ginny began 'We need to get George to speak to Ashley, or Ashley to speak to George … either will suffice'  
'That could be potentially problematic' Hermione said  
'Potentially problematic?' Ron said, 'It's going to be bloody impossible!'  
'Well then I suppose we had better start trying then' Ginny ended

-oOo-

_**Hey Cedric, it's Ashley. Feel like meeting up at Hogsmeade at some point in the next few days? It was great seeing you at the Burrow the other week, it felt like we hadn't spoken in ages … although I guess we haven't really, have we? Considering you never wrote me back after we left Hogwarts! Planning on forgetting me, were we? Anyway, write back, Ashley. :)  
**_After she had finished she attached the note to her owl, Misty, and sent it off, in hope of receiving a reply as soon as possible, although she was very doubtful considering it was Cedric. She decided that she did not want to stay awake and lose herself in her thoughts, so tried to sleep. However difficult it would prove to be.  
She was later awoken by Misty pecking at the skin on her hand  
'Ow' she winced, before sitting up on the bed and taking the letter, she ripped it open to find a reply from Cedric  
_**That sounds great! Do you want to meet at the Three Broomsticks tomorrow at say 2? I need your advice on something, actually, so your letter was amazing timing. It was good to see you too, reminds me of how much I miss Hogwarts really, it feels weird actually having a job. And of course I wasn't planning on forgetting you, Ash, it's just difficult remembering to write letters at least once a week when every day after work I practically collapse on the sofa and fall asleep, although you're probably going to think that's a lame excuse, right? I thought so. Cedric.  
**_Ashley looked outside the window and saw that it had begun getting light outside, she knew that she would probably need to get up soon, but to her that seemed to be a a rather difficult task to perform. Especially this early. So instead she rolled over and fell back asleep.

_'Cedric and Ashley sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G' Ginny Weasley chanted, whilst Ashley was standing in the doorway of the Great Hall talking to Cedric about the Charms homework … or at least that's the way the conversation started  
__'Oh shut up' Ashley yelled back, laughing 'Where was I?' she said to Cedric  
__'I actually have no clue, you lost me about 5 minutes ago … although luckily you actually told me what the homework was before you just went off on a tangent' he laughed,  
__'Sorry about that, I do seem to have a tendency to just ramble on about anything and everything' Ashley said,  
__'It's fine.' he smiled, before continuing 'However, as much as I love talking to you about all your 'ramblings', I do have to go, I have potions in about -' he began, then glanced at a watch on his wrist '- … 5 minutes ago. Damn.' He sighed 'Professor Snape is going to kill me' he laughed,  
__'Just make up some excuse about Professor Sprout needing to speak to you, it's believable … I'm sure that she'd vouch for you anyway … considering she's the head of Hufflepuff and everything' she smiled  
__'Good plan … do you have Herbology any time today?'  
__'Erm, now, yeah' she smirked  
__'Could you tell her I need a note of her for something? Then I can just give him that'  
__'Sure, no problem' she smiled 'I'm sure I'll come up with something that you could possibly need to have a note for'  
__'Thanks, Ash, you're awesome' Cedric smiled, then pulled her in and hugged her  
__'Yeah – yeah, no need to suck up' she smiled into his shirt  
__'Hufflepuff trait – honest, so I'm not sucking up' he smiled, before waving at her slightly and running off towards the dungeons.  
__'Soooooo' Ginny said, sliding up next to Ashley a few seconds after Cedric had disappeared from the Great Hall.  
__'So?' she smiled, turning to face her  
__'So, what was all that about with him!?' she grinned  
__'It was nothing! He asked me about the homework Flitwick set last lesson'  
__'And that's all? I'm doubtful that you laughed over Charms homework'  
__'Oh just shut up' Ashley smiled, 'I've got to go anyway, luckily for me I've got Herbology now, should be great fun' she added with sarcasm  
__'Oh, alright' Ginny said, 'Tell my brothers that I need to speak to them if they show up, okay?'  
__'Okay!' Ashley yelled, whilst walking out of the Great Hall and towards the grounds.  
__'Why hello there' Fred greeted, linking one of her arms  
__'Yes, we have a few questions to ask you' George added, linking the other one  
__'Before you two start drilling into me about something I've done wrong, Ginny needs to speak to you about something'  
__'About what?' Fred asked  
__'If I knew that I would have said it to you, wouldn't I? Idiot' she said, which made George scoff slightly, gaining him a glare from Fred  
__'Well we'll speak to her later – anyway, we have a question to ask you' Fred said  
__'And what might that question be, dearest Frederick?' Ashley laughed  
__'What on earth is going on between you and Diggory?' Fred asked,  
__'There is nothing going on between me and **Cedric**.' Ashley said, sighing, causing the twins to look at her 'He asked me about the Charms homework' she conceded  
__'Ah, that seems about right-' Fred said  
__'He's not that bright really, is he?' George ended, grinning slightly  
__'Well do you two know what the Charms homework is?' Ashley asked, looking between the twins  
__'Well-' Fred began  
__'Not necessarily,' George said  
__'However' Fred added  
__'We don't need to do it, Professor Flitwick has already noticed our amazing talents in Charms-' George said  
__'-Therefore, he does not need any form of proof that we are able to do a certain spell-' Fred said,  
__'-Unlike you, apparently, obviously he thinks you need to do your homework because you're just not as talented as we are' George added with a smile  
__'No, I am good at Charms. But I would rather study for the exams, considering some of it's written, not a practical exam' she said, awaiting the twins answer, that never seemed to arrive 'And, once again, Ashley is right' She said  
__'Ashley needs to stop referring to herself in the third person, and Fred thinks you have a Herbology lesson to be getting to' Fred said  
__'George agrees with Fred and thinks that Ashley does in fact have a lesson to be getting to … even if that lesson is not of the upmost importance in his opinion' George said  
__'Well, Ashley believes that Fred and George also have a Herbology lesson to get to, do they not?'  
__'Yes, and Fred and George were heading there before they were distracted by Ashley' Fred said  
__'Ashley is nothing but a bad influence to Fred and George's innocent selves' George said  
__'Innocent?!' Ashley asked incredulously 'If Fred and George are innocent then she dreads to think of what isn't'  
__'Oi!' Fred exclaimed, faking offence  
__'You know it's the truth' Ashley said, grinning  
__'She may have a fair point' George said, looking at Fred 'At least in your case, I'm far more innocent than you are'  
__'That's a lie, George' Fred smirked  
__'Well then we'll let Ashley decide,' George said 'Ashley, who is the more innocent of the two of us? Taking into account everything you've heard about us in the last few years'  
__'Well, considering some of the stories I've heard about Fred I suppose I'll have to go with Georgie for this' she smiled  
__'Ah, just to let you know, all the stories you heard were true' Fred winked 'I'm sure that's gonna change your mind about me being your favourite, right?'  
__'In your dreams, Fred' she smirked  
__'That's exactly where it takes place' he joked, causing Ashley to burst out laughing 'Nahh, think it's more in George's dreams than mine, sorry to disappoint you but you'll just have to accept that the best looking twin isn't the one that fancies you'  
__'I think I'd rather make an appearance in George's dreams than yours, Fred' she smirked  
__'Always knew you preferred me' George winked,  
__'Course I do, just convince yourself of that' she smirked, before continuing 'Now, I do in fact wish to arrive on time to Herbology, so if you don't mind' Ashley said, before shaking her arms to get the twins off and then walking quickly to the greenhouse, she was about to enter the glass door before someone's hand grabbed her arm, she turned around and came to see the face of George Weasley  
__'Where's Fred?' she frowned, standing on her tiptoes and looking over his shoulder  
__'No idea, he walked off as soon as you went'  
__'So you figured you'd follow me?' she smirked  
__'Well … yeah, I suppose so' he said, giving her a slight smile  
__'Your brain works in weird ways' she said, 'if you have one that is' she added, before smirking and turning back to the glass door, she entered into the Green house to see that there was no one in there, meaning that herself and George were late. She turned back around and walked out of the Greenhouse and towards the outside Garden, walking quickly over to it, to which George sped up and walked by her side  
__'So, there's really nothing going on between you and Huffle- Cedric?'  
__'Definitely not' Ashley began 'He's not my type. At all.'  
__'So what is your type, then?' George asked  
__'Well … it depends really'  
__'On?'  
__'On if you mean personality or looks, obviously it depends on who the person is as well'  
__'Both … and what do you mean?'  
__'Well, if it was someone I'd known for a while, I don't really stick to the 'type' thing, if I like them I like them. Simple'  
__'Right … so, how longs a while?'  
__'I don't really know … a few years I guess? I mean, with you and Fred I'd completely forget the 'type' thing, because I know you're both lovely … deep down, of course'  
__'So you'd consider going out with me or Fred?...'  
__'Maybe' she said, looking up at him  
__'Good to know' he said quickly, before continuing 'Anyway, so what's your type? Personality and looks'  
__'Personality – funny, sweet, kind of a geek in some aspects, quite smart – but not completely big headed, maybe the whole 'fuck everything' personality type, carefree? I think that's the proper word for it' she smirked  
__'And looks?'  
__'Looks … hmm … well, erm to start of with he'd have to be tall, quite cute, blue eyes, long-ish red hair' she said, although saying the hair colour quietly  
__'Wait, what colour hair?' George asked, frowning slightly  
__'Never mind, doesn't matter' Ashley said, blushing furiously. She then walked even quicker  
__'Yeah, sure it doesn't matter' George said, smiling to himself before catching up with her._

* * *

I'm running out of things to say in this whole 'end part', so I guess I'll just stick to review please! :3  
Oh yeah, apparently this chapter is dedicated to someone I know, although I'm almost positive he won't even read this. So, Logan, if you're reading this, here. You now have a chapter of something dedicated to you, feeling special? ;)

Anyway, again, please review, I'll love you forever :3


	16. Chapter 16

Okay, so this chapter has some ... I don't know what quite to call it (not sex or anything) social issues(?) included in it. I think that's the right word, anyway. And (if I remember) there'll be some in the next chapter as well, so if you don't like it you can skip it, but you might be a tad confused when you read it after...but whatever, man.

* * *

Chapter 16

Eventually Ashley awoke and sat up, she sat still for a few minutes, her eyes travelling around the room for a short time before she remembered that she was supposed to be meeting Cedric in Hogsmeade in a few hours, so decided that it would probably be the best decision to get up, however difficult that decision may be. Before she left the room she grabbed a pair of clothes from her ever-growing pile and took off her P.J's, as soon as she was standing in the hallway she realised it was most definitely a bad decision to walk around wearing no clothes in a house with eight other people, she quickly padded across the hallway and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her as soon as she set foot on the tiled floor in the bathroom. She turned the water on in the shower and stepped under, she must have stayed in there for around half an hour before deciding she should actually begin to properly get ready. She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, then stood in front of the bathroom mirror and attempted to dry her hair, then proceeded to use magic to straighten it (who has the time to use straightners?). After that she quickly pulled on the clothes she had taken into the bathroom with her, then left the bathroom and entered the hallway. On stepping out of the room she saw George walking in the opposite direction.  
'George' she said softly, to which he turned to face her, as soon as he saw her he stared at her for a few seconds before turning away from her and walking away quickly. Ashley tried to fight back tears whilst walking into what was Percy's room.

-oOo-

George walked straight into his room without a second glance back, he sat at a desk in his room, grabbed a piece of paper and some parchment and began to write  
_**Dear Ashley, this is quite a shitty way to say goodbye, (I mean a really bad way. Really.)but it's the only way I can think of, considering we're not speaking and everything, obviously I can't just tell you this. So, here it goes I guess … I'm sorry for everything that's happened in the last few weeks, and I'm sorry that we aren't speaking now, but considering everything that's been said I think it's understandable that I find it kinda hard to speak to you right now. But I'm writing this to basically let you know that everything I said about hating you and not wanting to be with you was a bit of a lie. Well, I say a bit, really I mean a complete and total massive lie. I tried to not want you, I honestly did, and I couldn't do it, at all. I love you, Ashley. I want to be with you every day for the rest of our lives, although the rest of my life won't be a long time, so now I think you understand the point of this letter. I hope you find someone who loves you, because you honestly deserve so so much better than me, I'm a waste of space without Fred and that's all I'm ever going to be now. Which is why I'm saying goodbye, to you and everyone else. Please remember that I love you, always have and always will, no matter what I've said.  
**__**- George.  
**_He finished the letter to Ashley and placed it to one side. He took a deep breath before he continued writing letters to the rest of his family, once he had finished, he picked up the letter to Ashley and walked downstairs, hoping that she might be sitting there  
'Ron?' George said, looking at his little brother, who was currently sitting on the sofa next to Hermione, who was leaning her head on his shoulder.  
'Yeah?'  
'Where's Ashley?'  
'I think she went to Hogsmeade for something...?' Ron said, looking at Hermione in questioning  
'Yes, she did' Hermione said, lifting her head off Ron's shoulder to look at George 'You could probably go to her if you really needed to, she said she was going to the Three Broomsticks  
'Oh, thanks ... tell mum I'll be back later' George said, then walked over to the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of powder, then stood in the fireplace, 'Hogsmeade' he stated clearly, before he was engulfed in green flames.

-oOo-

'So, Cedric' Ashley asked, sitting across from him in the Three Broomsticks 'What exactly did you want my amazing advice about?'  
'Well, I was thinking about asking someone to go out with me' Cedric said, smiling slightly  
'Aww!' Ashley said, 'Who?!'  
'I think it's just someone my father knows, you might know her actually - but that's not the point' he stated 'So, I was wondering - how exactly I could ask her?'  
'So you decided to ask for a girls perspective?' Ashley laughed 'Good plan'  
'So … what do I say exactly to her?'  
'Well, what's she like?'  
'She's … outgoing, quite blunt, loud … very loud but sweet, if that makes sense? … she knows what she wants and doesn't stop until she gets it … if that makes sense as well...'  
'Yeah, that does' Ashley smiled 'Right, well if she's outgoing you don't want to act shy, you basically could just come right out and ask her to go out with you, then obviously her response is going to be either a good one or a bad one, if it's good you can ask her to go out for drinks and if it's bad you just convince her to go out with you with your charm.'  
'I have charm?' he asked, smiling slightly  
'Well I'm guessing so. I'm sure Cho Chang seemed to think so … and the endless amount of girls you dated before that, of course'  
'Ashley?' Cedric asked, looking over the top of her head at someone  
'Yes?'  
'I erm – I think there's someone who wants to talk to you' he said, nodding towards the direction of the door, Ashley turned to face the same way he was looking and came to view George. Who, at knowing Ashley had seen him, walked out of the door.  
'Sorry, but would you excuse me for just a moment?' Ashley said and without waiting for a response quickly stood up and walked out into the street 'George!' she yelled in the direction of the retreating red head, he stopped walking and swivelled around on his heel to face her.  
'What?' he asked  
'Why did you leave?'  
'Why do you think, Ashley?'  
'I don't know! Because to be quite honest I'm not entirely sure what's been going on lately between us!'  
'Well join the bloody club!'  
'Maybe you could consider freaking telling me?! Or is that too much hard work!?'  
'What are you doing here with him?' he asked, ignoring her  
'Is that really any of your business?'  
'No, I suppose it's not'  
'Exactly'  
'Well, then I guess you and Diggory are officially dating' he said bitterly, 'Congratulations, hope you have a great life' he added, then turned to walk away  
'George, I'm not dating Cedric!' she yelled, then ran towards him and stood in front of him  
'Why would I care if you dated him anyway? It's not as if it matters to -'  
'George, don't do this' she interrupted  
'Do what?' he asked, frowning 'I'm not doing anything'  
'Don't pretend that you don't care about it. It's obvious you do or else you wouldn't have walked out just then, you wouldn't keep randomly bitching at me whenever I speak to him, you wouldn't be acting like a completely different person-'  
'I'm not pretending to not care. I honestly don't.' he said, then shoved past her and walked off with his head down and his hands stuffed in his pockets. Ashley sat on a bench outside for a while before she was joined by Cedric  
'Are you alright?' he asked  
'Shit, sorry, I forgot you were waiting for me'  
'It's alright, you're forgiven' he smiled 'So … what happened this time?'  
'How did you know something had happened?'  
'Well, George stormed out, you ran after him then didn't come back inside, so I come outside to find you sitting on a bench and -' he reached over and wiped her eyes 'Crying? I mean, I'm not a genius but that doesn't exactly scream 'our conversation went amazingly well', does it?'  
'I suppose not no' she said, giving a slight smile towards Cedric  
'So, what happened?'  
'Drama happened.'  
'Ah yes, Drama, the worst thing to happen in relationships since forever.'  
'I second that'  
'So, this drama … I'm presuming it's to do with George?'  
'Is it that obvious?' she asked again, smiling slightly  
'What happened?'  
'Ugh, it's a very long story to do with jealousy on his part, supposed craziness on my part, death on both parts and the smallest amount of romance on both parts, at least in my opinion'  
'Supposed craziness?' he smiled  
'Yeah … another rather long story that isn't really of any importance'  
'Ah right … so, romance?'  
'I think that's what you could call it … but quite possibly dysfunctional romance'  
'Right … well, whatever stupid thing he's said, I'm almost positive he didn't mean it'  
'Are you giving me the advice now?' she said, smiling  
'Well, you're having problems with the male species and I am a male, it can't hurt to advise you really, can it'  
'I suppose not … but I don't even know what's wrong with him, he's acting … weird, lately and I don't know why.'  
'Well, I suppose he's trying to get over the fact that Fred's gone, then he's got to deal with trying to act normal in front of his family, on top of that he's got to deal with not having a best friend anymore, and I'm guessing that because he doesn't have a best friend to vent to anymore, he just acts fine all the time and randomly explodes from anger, denial and everything else'  
'That's quite smart, Hufflepuff' she smirked  
'Well, we Hufflepuffs are supposed to be good at this 'advice giving' stuff, are we not? Whereas you Gryffindors never seemed to be very good at that'  
'Ah, what we lack in advice and helpfulness we make up for in bravery and courage … supposedly'  
'Hufflepuff will always be the best'  
'Yeah, at Herbology and not much else' she smirked 'Whereas we Gryffindors were good at Quidditch, Transfiguration and … ermm I don't know what else, but we automatically win for having the famous Harry Potter in our house' she joked  
'But of course' Cedric said, as a bang of thunder rolled across the sky.  
'Oh shit' Ashley muttered, looking up at the grey sky  
'What?'  
'Thunderstorms. I hate them.'  
'Why?'  
'Because electricity shoots down from the sky and can kill you, there's loud noises that come from nowhere and scare you half to death and not to mention that they keep you up all night and they're scary.'  
'The Gryffindors scared of thunder?'  
'And spiders'  
'Logical …' Cedric smirked, as a clap of thunder echoed in the sky once more 'Well, although this has been great, I for one don't feel like getting drenched anytime soon, so I think I'll have to go … thanks for the advice, by the way' he said, standing up  
'No problem … thanks for your advice also' she replied, smiling slightly and standing up also.  
'So, I'm hoping at some point I'll see you again? Hopefully before next Christmas?' he said, giving a slight chuckle  
'Yes, I'm pretty sure you will see me before next Christmas, considering it's about 6 months away'  
'Well then I look forward to it' he smiled, before pulling her into a hug 'Try not to worry so much,' he said when he had pulled away 'It's not good for you.'  
'Ha, I'll try my best … I can't really make any promises though' she smiled  
'Well, as long as you try I suppose it's alright' Cedric smiled, 'Anyway, I'm gonna go, bye'  
'Bye' she replied, giving a slight wave. He smiled slightly before disapparating. As soon as he had gone it begun raining, hard. Ashley quickly disapparated to the Burrow and ran to the front door, throwing it open and walking inside before slamming the door behind her  
'You look … wet' Ron commented as she walked in  
'Because it's raining, genius'  
'Ginny'll be glad about that...' Ron sighed  
'Why?'  
'She's dragging us all out somewhere … we have no idea where though, and George isn't going, which Ginny's not happy about'  
'Ah, right' Ashley said, 'Tell her I'm ill?'  
'I already did' he smirked,  
'Thank you, Ronniekins' she smiled, 'You're the bestest non-brother in the world … but don't tell Bill or Charlie'  
'I can't promise that'  
'I knew you'd say that' she replied, smiling slightly 'Anyway, I'm going to go and pretend to be ill'  
'Have fun' Ron said, and hint of sarcasm apparent in his voice  
'Try not to miss me too much' she grinned  
'I'm almost positive I won't notice your gone' he smirked  
'Arse' she muttered, whilst dragging herself up the stairs. Once she had reached Percy's room she threw herself down on the bed, switching her gaze from the ceiling to the window, which was now covered in droplets of water.  
She deeply wished that the crash of thunder would stop. She disliked the noise.  
Last time there had been a thunderstorm she had gone into the twins bedroom, it must have been 6th or 7th year, because they had still been at the Burrow. She'd literally crawled into George's bed and fell asleep with him.

She hadn't actually told him, but she'd fell in love with him that exact moment.

* * *

Okay, no idea if I used the right words to describe things or anything, but I'm very tired right now so I haven't had chance to edit it as much as I have with some of the others, but whatever, please review? I miss getting them :(  
Thanks for reading this though (if you got to this part, of course) I should just let you know that it makes you awesome. :3


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

_**I can't bloody believe she went out with Diggory. She knows what I think about him, how paranoid I am over him (even if I hate to admit that I'm jealous of the prick), yet she still hangs around with him all the time. I mean, I know I can't stop her hanging around with him completely, but I guess I'd just prefer it if she told me that she was with him and what she was doing with him instead of making me feel this shit about whether she's with him or not, then if she is I freak out about what he wants to see her for, considering it's obvious he fancies her. Maybe this is just proof that she doesn't care about me and that she never has. Yeah, that seems about right.  
**__**Wait, what the bloody hell am I talking about? She's not even MY girlfriend, she doesn't have to tell me anything, she can be with Diggory if she wants and she doesn't have to tell me anything about it at all because she has no commitment to me, I'm being completely irrational about the situation.**_

George rolled over in his bed as the sound of thunder echoed around his room. The entirety of the house had gone out somewhere. Well, the entirety of the house other than Ashley and George, who had not spoken to each other since earlier that day, when he'd found her in the Three Broomsticks with Cedric. George was drawn back to the memory of the last time that there had been a thunderstorm, Ashley had come into his and Fred's room because she had gotten scared. Which had been slightly weird, because Ashley wasn't scared of much, although apparently thunderstorms and spiders pretty much did it. He remembered her climbing into his bed and wrapping her arms around him tightly, then burying her head into his top to try and drown out the sound. He then remembered how Fred had raised his eyebrows at him and winked, to which he (George) had given him the finger and then fallen asleep with his arms around Ashley. Although his mother hadn't been entirely pleased when she had found him the next day with his arms wrapped around Ashley wearing nothing but his boxers and her wearing his t-shirt and nothing else, luckily over the years his mother had gotten quite used to the site of it.  
He badly wanted her to be here right now. He wished that none of this had even happened. He wished that he had just told her that he loved her, she said it back, and that was it. Then they would have a happy ever after. But it never works out that way, does it? There's always problems, there's always drama and there's always some cock trying to ruin it.  
There was a light tapping noise on his door and a few seconds later Ashley slid into the room, wearing plaid pj shorts and a hoodie  
'What do you want?' he asked, looking away from her  
'I just wanted to ask something' she said quietly  
'What?' he said  
'Why are you mad at me? I don't really understand what exactly I could've said or done that could have pissed you off …'  
'Let's see, you died 7 years ago and you've only just told me, you said that you can see my dead twin brothers ghost and that you've been talking to him and then, to top it off, you went on a date with Cedric Diggory, and I'm sure you already know my feelings towards him'  
'I'm sorry!' Ashley exclaimed 'I don't know what else you want me to say! I didn't realise that it was such a big deal to you that I died, I mean, people die all the time, right? So I never thought that it would matter so much! And I figured because I lived I could just forget about it, it was 7 years ago! Then on the Fred thing, it's not my fault that I can see him! I don't want to! It just makes everything harder than it already is! And I knew if I told you then you'd just leave, which is why I didn't want to actually tell you! But I didn't go on a date with Cedric!'  
'Of course it fucking matters that you died! It wouldn't matter if it was a week ago or 7 years! You still died! … I didn't mean to make it sound like it was your fault, it just sounded like you made it up or that you wanted to trick me … ' George stated  
'It's not like I told a load of people' Ashley muttered, looking down 'I only told Fred'  
'That's about right, you always preferred him, didn't you.'  
'You know that's not right. Not one little bit.' Ashley said, looking up at him and biting her lip, then blinking a few more times than usual to stop the tears 'I told you I was in love with you and you basically ripped my heart straight out, stomped on it then gave me back the broken pieces' she said, then looked down at the ground, a few seconds after this George heard sniffing noises  
'Oh shit. Ash, please don't cry' George said, standing up from the bed and immediately walking over to her, then wrapping his arms around her 'Ash, I'm so fucking sorry, for everything I've done to you. I was being a complete dick towards you and I had no right to be, absolutely none. I honestly love you, I was just being an idiot' he murmured, then pulled away from her, he lifted her chin up with one hand, looked down towards her and kissed her.  
'So … what happens now?' Ashley asked,  
'What do you mean?'  
'What happens between us...?'  
'Whatever you want to happen' he said, smiling  
'Well, what would you want to happen?'  
'I don't know really … I suppose in my mind the perfect scenario would be for you agree to go out with me, fall in love with me and that's it, I'd probably be happy for the rest of forever. But I suppose after all I've done I wouldn't blame you for not wanting that, at least not with me.'  
'I'm afraid that's impossible, George.' Ashley said, glancing at him.  
'Oh. Well then please can you forget that I even said it the-' he began, looking down at the ground and avoiding looking at her as much as he possibly could, she then tilted his head up so that he was looking directly into her eyes  
'It's impossible because I couldn't 'fall' in love with you if I already am in love with you.' she said, smiling slightly at him. His face broke into a grin and he kissed her again, except this time the kiss was deeper than that of the previous. When they pulled apart Ashley leant her head on his chest and he kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arms around her in the process. They stood in silence for a few minutes, although eventually he backed away from her and held onto both of her hands with his. He stood still for a few more seconds, looking at her  
'What?' she asked, frowning slightly  
'Nothing, you're just beautiful.' he said, smiling at her.  
'Well, it's nice to know that you think so, however I do have to break something to you'  
'Which is?'  
'I'm really not'  
'I'm afraid you have a new type of disease that makes you lie constantly' he said, pulling her over to his bed, sitting down on it and pulling her down onto his knee, so that she was sitting sideways across his lap, then pushed some of her hair back out of her face  
'I'm afraid it might be you who has that' she said, wrapping her arms around his neck  
'This argument could go on for a while, which I see no point in, considering I know I'm right and I know you're wrong'  
'No, I'm rig-'  
'Shh' he said, kissing her  
'You can't use that to shut me up, you know' she smirked  
'I can and I will, for a long time most probably' he grinned, pulling her closer into him 'Okay … I've been trying to stop myself thinking about it, but I can't, so I really have to ask something' he said a few seconds later 'and I'm probably going to regret it once I know the answer, but I still need to know to stop me freaking out'  
'Well what do you want to ask me?'  
'What exactly were you doing with Cedric? When you were in Hogsmeade I mean?'  
'He wanted advice' she said, smirking slightly  
'Advice about what?'  
'Asking out some random girl' Ashley said, then waited for a reply, which didn't arrive. Causing her to look up at George, who suddenly looked relieved and was grinning 'What...?'  
'Really? He didn't ask you out or anything?'  
'Really' Ashley said 'The only person to ask me out today was you, sadly' she grinned, causing him to raise his eyebrows at her, 'I'm allowed to make fun of you, you do it to me all the time' she said, placing her head back on his chest  
'So you're not in love with Diggory?'  
'Of course not' Ashley said 'That's what I've been trying to tell you all along, since like the 4th year'  
'I should have just believed you in the first place. It would have made everything a lot easier'  
'It would, but you learn from mistakes, right?'  
'I guess … I can't believe you made me that worried over nothing, though'  
'Why were you worried?'  
'Because I thought you loved Hufflepuff boy, and that you were going to marry him and have a bunch of little Diggory's, and that you lied to me about how you felt' he said, making Ashley choke on a laugh and look up at him  
'I definitely do not love him, nor do I want to marry him and have Hufflepuff children with him. Trust me on that. He's just – no. He's a friend' she began 'and I wouldn't lie about my feelings for you, especially when they're as serious as they are.'  
'I suppose you're right' George said 'So … erm … are you going to see him again?'  
'Not that I know of …'  
'Good. That means I get you all to myself for longer' he smiled, then kissed her, 'Although I do have to ask, was it a bird he wanted advice on, or a lad?'  
'it wasn't a boy, George' she smiled  
'Damn' he said, then looked at her and smiled, before craning his neck down and kissing her.

-oOo-

'So, Georgie, how've you been?' Ashley asked later, when the two had lay down in George's bed  
'I've been upset a lot more than before, I've barely slept at all and I've just been thinking about things'  
'I appreciate the honesty for once… So, thinking about what?'  
'I'm not sure. Ending it all? Being with Fred I guess' he said, looking down. Ashley looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek  
'Don't leave' she said, 'Ever'  
'I wouldn't go anywhere now'  
'You promise?'  
'I promise' he began 'I mean, why would I leave now? I've got almost everything I've always wanted'  
'What's that?' Ashley asked, frowning slightly  
'Well I have you' George said, 'Which is more than I ever asked for'  
'Cheesey much?' she said, smiling slightly 'But what else?'  
'I wish I could have my brother back' George said, then looked away from her  
'Georgie …' she began, to which a few tears ran down his face, making him tilt his head even further away  
'Why do you keep looking away?' she asked,  
'Because you've already seen me cry enough in the last few weeks. Girls shouldn't have to see their boyfriends cry … at least not this much'  
'Like I care' she began, then turned him back to face her 'It doesn't make you less of a dude, George, in fact being brave enough to cry in front of your girlfriend is quite possibly the manliest thing you could do' she added, smiling at him.  
'It's nice that you're trying to make me feel better, love, but I think I'll try not too' he said, smiling slightly. She wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers through his hair,  
'I know this doesn't have much to do with anything and you'll probably say no to this, but do you want me to take you to the place where I saw Fred? I mean, it might make you feel better, right?' she asked warily  
'I'm not sure …' George said,  
'Well, you've got time' She said 'Anyway, you should really try and sleep, George, it's like 3 in the morning'  
'I'll try and sleep as long as you stay with me?'  
'Obviously I'm staying here … for one I'm too warm to get out and for two, you're very comfortable' Ashley said, grinning, then leaned forwards and kissed him. When they pulled apart George rested his forehead on hers  
'I love you so much' he said, stroking her hair  
'I love you too, Georgie' Ashley said, then buried her head into his chest and held onto the front of his t-shirt.

* * *

Okay, so, yeah...don't quite know what to say right now, but please will someone review? I'm kinda assuming by the fact that no one's reviewing that you all think it's completely fricking shit, so...could you at least review to tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Pikachu, Jack Barakat, L and Zelda demand you to review :3


	18. Chapter 18

Okay, so this chapter has more of a serious theme to it (not sex or anything), but it's nothing major. At least I don't think it is, but feel free to skip it. I don't think I put a lot of important information in this chapter, but I'm probably wrong, so you might wanna just skim it anyway :)

* * *

Chapter 18

George's P.O.V (This part literally carries on from the last chapter, so it's still the same night until I put Normal P.O.V)

I can't actually believe that this is happening right now … I'm still pretty sure that I'm dreaming and that in a few seconds I'm going to wake up. Because right now everything is just too perfect to be real. I can't believe that I'm lying next to the most beautiful girl I've ever met. She's even beautiful when she's asleep, this is probably going to make me sound like a twat (but who cares? It's my own head, no one else is going to hear) but she looks like a fucking angel. I just can't believe that **she's mine**. After 15-ish years of trying I finally got the girl. Although if I'd have tried harder I probably could have done it in 10, tops -  
Shit, Ashley, don't wake up – oh, just moving, that's cool.  
I probably should try and sleep, I've barely slept more than 5 hours in the last few days, but who knows, maybe Ashley will make me sleep better or I'll be too distracted looking at her face to fall asleep – as romantic as that sounds, of course.  
Merlin this girl moves a lot in her sleep – OW freaking hard kick and all! Whatever, I'll get her back tomorrow.  
I wonder if she knows her nose twitches in her sleep sometimes? She looks like a rabbit...that sounded weird, even in my head.  
I swear she's trying to move closer to me – not that I'm complaining or anything, but people don't usually move this much in their sleep? Well, I know she doesn't, we've fallen asleep in the same bed for years and she's never moved closer to me. I moved forward slightly and kissed her forehead, when I leant back I could have sworn I saw her smile  
'I love you' I whispered, closing my eyes so I could at least attempt to fall asleep.  
'I love you too' I heard a whisper back a few minutes later, causing me to open one eye and see that she had her eyes open  
'I thought you were asleep'  
'Right back at you' she muttered, closing her eyes then moving even closer to me.  
'Could you get any closer?' I murmured, smirking slightly  
'Shh' she said, placing a finger over her lips, then wrapping her arm over my waist 'I want to be the one to say it first this time' she said, that's random...say what? 'I love you'  
'Really? … Fine,' I groaned, before grinning 'I love you too'

Normal P.O.V

George woke up the following day to find that Ashley was not lying next to him, he frowned and turned over so he was facing the other way and saw that she was not on that side of the bed either. He slowly sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, then rubbed his eyes and looked around the room, his vision still slightly blurry. He eventually saw her sitting down on a chair that was by his desk, her knees were pulled up to her chest, her eyes were rimmed with red and it was apparent that she was shaking.  
'Ash?' he asked, making a move to get out of bed  
'What the hell is this?' she asked, a tremor in her voice, holding a folded piece of paper up that had her name scrawled across it in George's untidy handwriting. As soon as he saw it he collapsed back onto a seated position in bed.  
'Oh no' he said under his breath, then placed a hand on his forehead  
'George. Answer the question'  
'Can we please deal with this later? Perhaps when I'm not half-asleep?'  
'No. We can't' she said through her teeth, clenching her jaw 'We need to talk about it now. What is this?'  
'You're going to regret it-'  
'George' she hissed  
'It's a note … ' he said quietly  
'I can see that' she said, sounding slightly irritated 'What kind of note? and please don't say what I think you're going to say, because if you do then I don't really know what I'll do'  
'It's a … erm'  
'George' Ashley said, looking up at him,  
'It's a – erm, well a note that someone would write when they were planning on killing themselves' he said quietly, before looking down.  
'So it's a suicide note?' she asked, her voice shaking, George simply nodded in response. Suddenly Ashley had leapt up from her chair and had practically jumped on him, her arms were now wrapped around his neck and she was holding onto him as tightly as she possibly could, he continued to stroke her hair until she had calmed down slightly … or had at least stopped violently shaking. George noticed after a while that the shoulder of his shirt had gotten wet, he pulled Ashley's arms from around his neck, causing her to look up at him, 'Why are you crying? I told you all this yesterday, about how I felt and everything'  
'I k-know' she began, then wiped her eyes 'B-but I d-didn't think you were actually going to d-do it'  
'I'm not now' he murmured  
'But you were going to!' she almost shouted 'If I hadn't shown up would you have done it?!'  
'Well … I migh- ' George said  
'Oh merlin. Oh god.' Ashley said, 'If I hadn't-'  
'Ash' George said, grabbing her hands to get her attention 'Don't start freaking out. What matters is that you did show up, and that I'm not going to do anything again, alright?'  
'Wait … again? You tried to kill yourself? …' she said, before clapping her hand over her mouth when she got no reply  
'I'm sorry, Ash' he said, then pulled her towards him in a hug 'But I just felt so shit. My brothers dead, the girl I was in love with was ignoring me and everyone else seemed to have someone, I mean, my little sister had someone before me for Merlins sake. They all had someone they could turn to when Fred died, and me? I didn't have anyone. Least until you showed up, but that didn't last long either'  
'Georgie' she said, pulling away and looking sympathetically at him 'You're going to be alright, I promise'  
'You can't promise something like that'  
'I can if I'm sure of it'  
'You seriously think that I'm going to get better? That I'm going to stop missing Fred?'  
'I think you're going to get better, but that doesn't involve not missing your brother. You can move on and remember at the same time'  
'You see, I don't think I can' George said, 'Every time I think of him, I want to die. I hate the fact that he's gone and I can't do anything about it.'  
'You're not the only one that feels that way, George. Obviously you feel worse than all the others, but you're not the only one that misses Fred. Your mum and dad do, Bill does, Charlie does, Percy, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Hermione, Angelina, Lee … there are a lot of people who miss him, they get how you're feeling right now, maybe not to the same extent as you, but they understand, George. You've got to get that into your head.'  
'How have you dealt with it?' he asked suddenly, 'Losing Fred? You were just as close to him as everyone else, including me, and you seem normal'  
'That's because I've been focusing on making sure you're okay. I can't break down when you still feel bad, because then we'll just never feel any better.'  
'That's the only reason you're not a complete wreck? Me?'  
'Pretty much, yeah. I knew that you'd be a mess, so I told myself before I came that I shouldn't show any weakness, because then I wouldn't be able to make you feel better and I'd end up feeling like shit for making you feel even worse … as hard as that is to understand'  
'I get it' George said 'I tried that with Ginny, didn't work.'  
'I think Harry's trying it now, but I think he's having trouble as well'  
'At least Ginny's boyfriend can make sure she's okay.' George muttered  
'Shut up' Ashley said 'If Fred was my actual brother by blood you would have been acting just the same as me. Hermione's acting like that with Ron, doesn't make him a bad boyfriend. We just need to make you gingers feel better' she said, adding a smile at the end  
'I suppose so' George muttered  
'So what's making you feel worst? Or what do you hate the most about it?'  
'I don't really know … I guess the thing I hate the most, more than anything I can think of, is that nobody's actually been able to make me feel better the last few days' once he had finished he looked at Ashley, who was sitting in front of him, saying nothing and looking down towards the quilt of his bed, picking at some of the stitching. It was at this point he realised what he'd said 'I didn't mean it like that, Ash …'  
'No, I get it. I already knew I didn't make you feel any better' she began 'I erm – I'm just going to go and get – I don't know, something' she added, before standing up and walking towards his bedroom door  
'Ashley, no' George said quickly, then jumped off the bed and ran ahead of her, blocking the door  
'What, George?' she said quietly  
'I didn't mean it that way'  
'Then what way, George? Because it sounded like you said nobody's made you feel better, and I'm obviously part of that' she said, her voice barely above a whisper  
'Yes, but if you payed more attention you'd also notice I said "in the last few days", and we haven't spoke to each other. So you couldn't possible have made me feel any better … unless you have some weird, mind power thing'  
'Oh' Ashley said, biting her lip slightly 'Sorry …'  
'Do you really think that you haven't made me feel better?' he asked, frowning, to which she simply shrugged 'Well you have, you've made me a lot better'  
'Really?'  
'Well, considering before you got here I couldn't get out of bed or eat or do anything, yes, you have'  
'I suppose'  
'Ashley. You need to believe me, if it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead right now'  
'I believe you' she said, looking up at him, he leaned down and touched his lips to hers for a moment, then pulled away.  
'A lot seems to happen by this door' George said, smiling slightly  
'You know, I was just thinking that' Ashley said  
'Great minds think alike' George said, winking at her, making her blush 'You look cute when you blush' he said, smiling  
'Oh shut up' she said, looking down at the floor and smiling  
'And you definitely do not need to smile at the floor' he said, tilting her head up  
'I probably do' Ashley said, to which George frowned  
'No, you don't. You're beautiful and I want to see your face, whereas the floor probably does not, as it's floor, it has no feelings.' he stated in all seriousness, causing Ashley to try and hold back a grin before she couldn't any longer and her face broke out into a smile 'And besides, we've already had this conversation, I don't feel the need to repeat it quite yet' he said, causing her to blush a bright crimson colour 'Do you blush all the time?' he smiled  
'No, just sometimes' she said, biting her lip  
'Well, would you blush if I did this?' he said, then leant in and kissed her neck, leaving a trail of kisses from her neck to her lips, before kissing her softly. Once he had pulled away they both looked at each other for a moment before kissing each other again, this time more forcefully. George picked her up and carried her over to his bed, still not breaking the kiss, and lay her down, before holding himself up over her, her arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer to her, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down so that her mouth was by his ear, then whispered something to him.  
'Really?' he asked, a grin spread across his face. She bit her lip and nodded, before smirking slightly. He grinned even wider and began kissing her again.

* * *

So, yeah, that's it. :)  
I also apologise for sounding bitchy in the last chapter about reviews, I was irritated before and then I remembered I didn't have any reviews and got more irritated and blah blah blah.  
But thanks for the reviews anyway, they were great :3


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

'Morning' George whispered, kissing Ashley's forehead  
'Morning to you, too' Ashley smiled,  
'Hmm...'  
'What?' Ashley asked, smiling slightly  
'It's just that I never thought this would happen'  
'What do you mean?'  
'I never thought that I'd wake up next to you … at least not when you were my girlfriend'  
'Well, now you have' Ashley smiled  
'Really? I hadn't noticed.' George said sarcastically,  
'Again with the sarcasm!'  
'It's a talent alright! I've been doing it for a while' he said, smiling  
'Idiot'  
'That was uncalled for!'  
'Trust me, it really wasn't.' she joked, making George open his mouth in fake shock  
'You're mean!'  
'I know. I should have been a Slytherin, I've told you 1,000 times' she laughed  
'I can imagine you being in Slytherin. Bossing everyone around with your prefect badge' he said,  
'But I wasn't a prefect … I doubt being in a different house would change that'  
'It would have, cause if you were in Slytherin me and Fred wouldn't have spoke to you' he said, smiling, which made Ashley have a look of real shock  
'What?!'  
'If you were Slytherin … we probably wouldn't have spoken to you…'  
'Why not?!'  
'Because you'd be a Slytherin! We'd be opposites!'  
'We're opposites now!'  
'Well … yeah … but, opposite in a good way'  
'That makes perfect sense…' Ashley said, rolling her eyes before smiling at him 'Anyway, we should probably go downstairs, your family haven't really seen you in a while'  
'I don't necessarily want to see them'  
'What do you mean?' she asked, frowning  
'Well … it's like, they don't realise how I feel about losing him. It's like, they expect me to get better really quickly and I can't'  
'I get how you feel' Ashley said 'But-'  
'Well, you don't really get how I feel, do you?' he said quickly  
'What do you mean?' she asked, pushing herself up onto her elbow  
'Well, you haven't lost your brother, or anyone important to you' he said, looking up at her  
'I haven't lost anyone important to me?!' she exclaimed, 'I've lost my best friend, too you know! Fred was practically my brother! Then there was Remus, who was basically my second father! Tonks who was one of my closest friends! Lavender, I mean, we weren't exactly close friends, but still! Then, in the build up to the bloody battle I lost Sirius, who was like an uncle and, most probably, related to me in some way! I lost one of my cousins, then Dobby, oh, and I almost lost Cedric! THEN I almost lost Harry! OH, and I recently learned that I could have lost you! So, please, go ahead and tell me again how I haven't lost anyone close to me. I dare you'  
'Sorry' George said, solemnly 'It's just … hard I guess'  
'It's fine' Ashley said, quietly. George pulled her down onto him and wrapped his arms tightly around her  
'We'll be alright … won't we?' George asked  
'We'll be fine, Georgie' Ashley said, kissing his cheek. The two lay in silence for a while before there was a tap on the window, they looked over and saw Ashley's owl holding a letter, she rolled off George then stood up and walked over to the owl. She slowly opened George's bedroom window and the owl flew in, landing on top of the wardrobe, Ashley walked over and took the letter, then opened it … after she had read it she spoke up 'Erm … George, I need to go somewhere to meet someone…', she walked back over to him and sat opposite him  
'Okay,' he began, 'Who?'  
'Well, erm - it's Cedric'  
'Why do you need to meet him?' George said  
'He wanted to introduce me to someone, apparently'  
'Oh. That's fine' George said  
'Really?'  
'Really. I know you're mine now' he smiled, then leaned down and kissed her  
'Good. I'm glad that you're not freaking out' she said, before standing up 'So, I'll see you later, okay?'  
'Ok' George smiled, before Ashley skipped out of the room to get changed.

-oOo-

Later, George was sitting in the main room of the Burrow playing Exploding Snap with Charlie when Ron ran in, panting.  
'What's wrong, Ronniekins?' George asked, not taking his eyes off the game  
'Just saw … Cedric in … Hogsmeade' he said, between pants  
'And?' Charlie said, frowning, looking up from the cards  
'He had his hands … all over … Ash' he said, looking at George, who suddenly looked like he had been stabbed in the chest  
'… What?' he said, quietly  
'I'm sorry, George' Ron said,  
'George, you can't seriously believe that she'd cheat on you' Charlie said,  
'I saw it!' Ron said 'I know it was them!'  
'You should probably ask her first, mate' Charlie said  
'I don't know' George said, before standing up and walking slowly towards his room  
'Poor guy' Charlie said, once he was out of earshot  
'I know' Ron sighed  
'You don't really think Ashley would cheat on him?' Charlie asked, frowning at his youngest brother  
'I didn't, but now … I'm not entirely sure…'  
'Ron, we both know that she wouldn't cheat on George. Especially not now.'  
'I guess …' Ron said, before sighing once more 'Honestly, I figured once I left Hogwarts all the bloody drama would be over, Voldemort being dead and all that. Turns out at that point it becomes relationship drama', he added, causing Charlie to laugh lightly

-oOo-

'So, Cedric, you dragged me to Hogsmeade again to tell me that?' Ashley asked, smiling slightly  
'I suppose so' he said, smirking slightly 'Now, if you must excuse me, I need a guys advice on something'  
'You seem to need a lot of advice lately, Diggory' she said,  
'Well, I guess I'm not very bright' he smiled 'I'll see you later' he added,  
'See you' Ashley said, before Cedric apparated away. She wandered around Hogsmeade for a while, looking in a variety of stores, including Honeydukes, to which she remembered sneaking into a few times with Fred and George using the secret passage from Hogwarts, luckily Snape had never caught them sneaking out...though he had caught them getting back in a few times ... needless to say they had a few detentions with him over the years. She bought some things from there and looked in a few other stores before deciding a few hours later to head back to the Burrow. She apparated there and landed a few feet from the door, then entered into the house. On walking into the kitchen she saw George sitting on the chair with an icepack placed over his lip and a bruise forming under his eye, she quickly walked over to him and knelt down  
'George? What happened?' she asked, causing him to give her a look which was a cross between anger and hurt, then stand up and stalk off. She turned to follow him before Ron grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him  
'Ashley, I need you to answer this honestly … alright?'  
'Alright…' she said, warily  
'Did you cheat on my brother?'  
'No! Of course I didn't!' she said, 'Why?!'  
'You sure?'  
'Of course I'm fucking sure, Ronald! I wouldn't cheat on your brother!'  
'I believe you' he said, loosening his grip on her arm  
'Why did you even ask that?'  
'It's a long story' he sighed  
'You kinda need to tell me' Ashley said  
'I know' Ron said  
'… Anytime would be great, Ronniekins'  
'Okay … so you went to Hogsmeade with Cedric, right?'  
'Yeah … I did … ' Ashley said, frowning slightly  
'Well … I was in Hogsmeade, and I may have seen Cedric with his hands all over some girl'  
'That would have been my cousin … but what does that have to do with-' she said, before realisation hit her 'YOU TOLD GEORGE THAT CEDRIC WAS SNOGGING ME?!'  
'Well…' Ron said, shifting his weight between his feet  
'You irritating, stupid bloody idiot!' she said, hitting him on the arm with every word  
'I'm sorry, Ash!'  
'… Carry on' she sighed  
'Well, after I told him, he went off to his room. Then later I was sitting in the main room with Harry and Cedric walked in, saying something about mum letting him in. After that he said he needed to ask Harry about something, so I left. After a few minutes I heard Cedric mention something to do with you, then George walked in, he started saying something to Cedric, who didn't really say much back, then there was a loud crashing noise.'  
'Okay …'  
'I walked in, and they were fighting, like, really bad fighting. Took a while to separate them, but we did eventually. Cedric left a few seconds later. Mum tried to fix George up a bit, he was covered in blood, she healed a few of his cuts and stuff, but he still looks pretty bad'  
'He's such an idiot' Ashley said,  
'I agree. You should probably go see him' Ron said,  
'That was my plan' she said, 'Thanks for believing me by the way, I know some people wouldn't … even if you did start the problem in the freaking first place' she added, narrowing her eyes at him then sighing and hugging him 'But you're forgiven'  
'Thanks, Ash, sorry about this' he smiled. Ashley rolled her eyes then ran towards George's room. She stood outside his room for a few minutes, before building up the courage to walk in. She opened the door slightly and slid in through the gap, shutting the door lightly behind her. The light coming through the closed curtains illuminated George's face slightly, meaning that Ashley was able to see the extent of the damage. She walked over to the bed and knelt down in front of him, seeing that he was holding the bag of ice to his lip still, whilst noticing on closer inspection that he also had a purple-ish bruise forming under his eye. She leaned forwards and took the bag of ice from him, seeing that he had a cut over his lip, before she placed it back on again, holding the ice in place on his lip  
'So … are you going to talk to me?' she murmured  
'That depends' he said, his voice breaking slightly  
'On …?'  
'Did you cheat on me with Cedric?' he said  
'No' Ashley said, 'The girl Ron saw was my cousin, who, coincidentally was the girl that Cedric wanted to introduce me to'  
'So you didn't cheat on me?'  
'No. But it's nice to know how much you trust me, you must trust me a lot to think I'd cheat on you after we've been together about a day.'  
'I do trust you' he said  
'Well, evidently, you don't. No matter how many times I've told you that there is absolutely nothing going on between me and Cedric you don't believe me.'  
'I'm sorry that I didn't trust you' he began 'It was just Ron saying that Cedric was kissing someone-'  
'So you just automatically thought it was me? You have such a great opinion of me, don't you? "Oh, Cedric's kissing someone, it MUST be my girlfriend! She'd obviously cheat on me in a second!"'  
'Well what if the situation was reversed?!' he began, somewhat angry 'If Ron came to you and said he'd seen me snogging Angelina's face off, wouldn't you think I'd cheated?!'  
'I wouldn't accuse you of cheating. I'd at least ask you about it … and I especially wouldn't start a fight with her'  
'I didn't mean to start fighting him' George said, sounding somewhat ashamed 'It's just …'  
'Just what, George?'  
'He said something, and it just … it made me pissed off with him'  
'You can't punch people when you're pissed off with them!'  
'I know! I usually don't! It's just the thing he said, made me so … annoyed and angry'  
'What did he say?'  
'He said he fancied you.' George said  
'Don't -' Ashley said  
'I'm not lying, Ash!' he began 'He was talking to Harry in the main room, and I overheard him telling Harry that he fancied you! He was asking Harry how he could get you to go out with him! So I flipped!'  
'George, if that was the case, why would he be going out with my cousin?'  
'Does she look like you?'  
'A little'  
'That's why' he stated. The two sat for a while, neither saying anything,  
'This isn't going to work … is it?' Ashley said, placing the ice bag down on the floor  
'What?' George asked, frowning  
'Us. We're not going to work out. If it was meant to work out, it wouldn't be this hard'  
'Well then I'll fight to make it work' George said, holding her hand  
'I'm not sure that fightings going to work anymore, Georgie'  
'Please, don't go' he said, kissing her, then wincing in pain and holding his fingers to his lips 'I'll – I'll be better -'  
'I have too' she whispered 'It'll be better for both of us if I leave', she stood up, then made a movement towards the door  
'Ashley' George began, pulling her back 'Please, don't leave. You - you can't.'  
'I'm sorry' she said, wiping her eyes. She turned towards him and kissed him, then rested her forehead on his for a second 'Bye, George'  
'Bye, Ash' he murmured, then watched her leave the room, letting his head hang as soon as she had left.

* * *

Okay, so you all probably hate me right now for more drama, don't you?... Drama Llama :3 (danisnotonfire reference...nobody? alright then...)

Whatever, I promise they're not broken up forever :)

So, erm, yeah ... that's about it...

Feel free to review, it's always good to know whether you all hate me for writing this or not :')


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ashley had left the Burrow a few hours after her and George's argument, causing a lot questioning between the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione.  
'So, does anyone have any idea about where she could have gone?' Charlie asked  
'No idea' Ron said, sitting on the sofa with his arm around Hermione 'Last thing she said to me was "Bye, Ronniekins. Make sure George is okay" then she ran off crying and I haven't seen her since'  
'And you didn't think to go after her?!' Ginny asked, standing up slightly before Harry pulled her back down  
'Good going there, little brother' Charlie said, rolling his eyes  
'Well what was I supposed to say?!' Ron exclaimed  
'Perhaps "Don't go, there's a Death Eater after you that will kill you as soon as he finds out you're alone"?! That would have sufficed!' Ginny said, a flash of anger in her eyes, causing Ron to give a "Help Me" look towards Harry,  
'Well, it's not like that would have stopped her' Harry said 'She's too stubborn to listen to anyone'  
'We need to find her' Ginny said 'If she gets killed …'  
'George will be even worse' Charlie said  
'But how are we meant to find her?' Harry added in,  
'I have no idea' Charlie said  
'Surely she told someone where she was going?' Hermione said  
'She mighta told mum' Ron said  
'Well, where's mum?' Ginny said  
'She's in the house somewhere' Charlie said,  
'Well, when she turns up, any of us can ask her about it' Ginny said, 'We can't not find her, or else anything could happen'  
'Let's not think about that' Hermione said 'I'm sure she'll be fine. Rookwood's probably given up on her now anyway … right?'  
'Death Eaters never give up, Hermione' Ron said, 'And if he had, he wouldn't have taken her'  
'They didn't give up when Voldemort was around. He's obviously not now' Ginny said  
'But they still do weird stuff' Charlie said, 'I mean, they still want to kill people who aren't pureblooded or who are blood traitors, she's a half blood and she's classed as a blood traitor to them. So what's to stop them going after her and trying to kill her? They want to carry on Voldemort's work, just because he's dead it won't stop them.'  
'Well … nothing can stop them … and I suppose you're right' Hermione said, frowning  
'So, the best we can do is find out where she is, then convince her to come back.' Charlie said 'Or at the very least convince her to go back to her parents'  
'Definitely' Ginny said, 'And if that doesn't work-'  
'Then we stay there' Ron said, 'she can't kick us out'  
'Exactly' Ginny said  
'So, I wonder who'll ruin this plan' Charlie said.

-oOo-

Ashley sighed as she sat down on the bed that took up most of the space in her small room, she had considered going back to her parents for a while, but thought that it would put them in danger, so had decided against it. She now took residence in a room above the Leaky Cauldron, at least until she could find somewhere else to go. The only person who she had actually told where she was going was Mrs Weasley, as she wouldn't let her go anywhere until she knew, Ashley hoped she wouldn't tell anyone where she was – especially George.  
'Well, I guess this is home for now' she said to herself, before laying back on the bed and staring at the cracked ceiling above, she resorted to counting the amount there was due to sheer boredom.  
'Leaving there was the stupidest mistake you ever could have made, love' a voice sneered from the opposite corner of the room. Ashley quickly sat up to see Rookwood standing in the shadows in the corner of her room, he walked forwards into the light and pulled his wand out  
'Oh shit' Ashley said, before running to the door and pulling the handle, desperately hoping that it would open. It wouldn't. Suddenly, Rookwood blew up the dresser that was an inch away from her, causing her to jump back and hit the wall,  
'Time to go, sweetheart' he said, before grabbing her and apparating. She found herself standing in a medium-sized room that contained a sofa, armchair and a fireplace that looked as if it hadn't been used for years. It seemed – on first glance, a lot like Malfoy Manor, but she very much doubted that was where she was. She knew that after the whole thing about Voldemort coming back and Lucius being found out as a Death Eater, the ministry had been to Malfoy Manor and made Lucius give up all the Dark Magic items he owned, and had taken him to Azkaban shortly after, however, that wouldn't have stopped Rookwood from coming here.  
'Where are we?' she asked the empty room, getting no answer 'Well, that's rather helpful' she said to herself, before walking around. She realised at this point that it wasn't Malfoy Manor, but in fact the first house she had lived in. She remembered she had met Fred and George for the first time in this very room  
_'Ashley, this is Mr and Mrs Weasley, and their children' Mr Redford said to a 5 year old Ashley, who was currently sitting down with a massive book spread over her lap. Ashley simply looked up, scanned the room, her eyes then darted back down towards the book, at this Mrs Redford shook her head at her daughter  
'Are you not going to say anything to them, dear?' she asked  
'What do I need to say?' Ashley replied, looking up at her mother 'None of them look my age, so what do you expect me to say? "Hello I'm Ashley and we'll probably never speak again"? Because that would be rather pointless now, wouldn't it, mummy?'  
'She's five?!' Mrs Weasley exclaimed  
'Yes, she's got her fathers brains though' Mrs Redford said, giving a slightly forced smile 'I suppose considering her abominable personality she needed something to fall back on, we've already made the decision that she'll probably be a Ravenclaw, like her father.'  
'What house were you in, in your Hogwarts days?' Mrs Weasley asked,  
'I was a Slytherin, although the hat did say I could have been Ravenclaw, I guess I always saw myself as more ambitious than intelligent, you know? Although a lot of the other Slytherins weren't pleased with a muggleborn being in their house, so I spent a lot of my time with Hufflepuffs and a handful of Ravenclaws'  
'Yes, of course' Mrs Weasley said, giving a slight smile 'Me and Arthur were Gryffindors, and our eldest – Bill, he was sorted into Gryffindor last year when he started, Charlie's starting this year, then obviously Percy in four years'  
'Yes – one of Ashley's cousins started a few years ago, she was sorted into Hufflepuff, at least I think she was'  
'Oooh, well Ashley's got a lot of options for her house then, hasn't she?' Mrs Weasley asked, smiling slightly 'Ravenclaw father, Slytherin mother, Hufflepuff cousin'  
'Yes, we're guessing she's not going to be a Gryffindor, considering none of our family have any of the traits of the house'  
'Well, you never know' Mr Weasley said, pushing his glasses up 'What house does she want to be in?' he asked quietly  
'She's convinced on Ravenclaw, although she doesn't necessarily know about the other hou-'  
'I do know about the other houses' Ashley said, looking at her mother again 'Ravenclaw are about intelligence and wit, Slytherin are about ambition and cunning, Hufflepuff are about patience and loyalty and Gryffindor are about bravery and nerve. I'm not cunning, I'm not patient and I wouldn't really say that I'm brave – so I suppose the only option left is Ravenclaw.'  
'Well, you certainly have the brains for it' Mrs Weasley smiled  
'Hopefully her ideas will change' Mrs Redford muttered 'I don't really want her to be a Ravenclaw, they seemed rather stuck-up when I went to Hogwarts'  
'Well – I suppose we'll find out in six years' Mrs Weasley smiled 'Hopefully you don't end up in the same house as Fred and George though, and if you do good luck to you'  
'Oh, so they're the same age, are they?' Mrs Redford asked, looking at the twin boys  
'They are indeed, then a few years after them Ron goes up, then Ginny of course'  
'Of course' Mrs Redford smiled 'Anyway, I suppose you want to speak to Ashley's father? Enough of the talk about houses' she smiled, then led the Weasley's into the kitchen. Well, all the of the Weasley's apart from the two identical red-heads.  
'Why are you still doing here?' Ashley asked, looking at the book again  
'What're you doin'?' one of the twins asked, ignoring what she had said  
'Reading' Ashley stated, flicking over the page  
'What're you doin' that for?' the other asked, causing her to look up from her book and frown at the two boys  
'Because I want too' she said, rolling her eyes  
'Well that's stupid' the first twin said 'Aren't you meant to be smart, cause you're Ravenclaw?'  
'I'm not actually a Ravenclaw, so that makes you stupid really, doesn't it? Ashley said in response, making the twins laugh  
'What's your name?' the second twin asked  
'My mum said it about 10 times, weren't you listening?' she said, the two boys shook their heads in a no 'It's Ashley, what about you?'  
'I'm Fred' the second twin stated, 'That's George' he said, pointing towards the boy standing next to him  
'You're lying' Ashley said, then turned towards the second twin 'you're George, he's Fred'  
'How did you know?!' Fred said, his mouth dropping open in surprise  
'Because I'm not stupid. I can tell when people lie'  
'Well, I'm George' the second twin said. Ashley then stood up, and walked around him in a circle, before leaning in so that her face was inches away from his 'What're you doin'?' George asked, frowning at her  
'I'm looking if there's any difference, so I can tell between the two of you'  
'You're too smart' Fred said 'We won't be able to prank her, Forge!'  
'Shut up, Gred!' George said,  
'You have blue eyes, Fred has green … and George has more freckles' Ashley said, before plopping herself back down in a seated position  
'See, too smart!' Fred said, 'We can't be friends with a smart person! There's no point being friends with someone you can't trick!'  
'She could help with tricks' George said,  
'Oh … '  
'See!' George said, sitting next to Ashley 'Do you like to prank people?'  
'I pranked my dad before … and my cousin. They weren't very happy about it'  
'What did you do?' Fred asked sitting on her other side, seemingly curious  
'I put itching powder in my dads clothes. I sneaked my cousin some Hiccough Sweets, then threw a dungbomb in her room'  
'Wicked' Fred and George said simultaneously, before standing up, walking to the corner of the room and discussing something with their heads bowed together.  
'What do you think, Forge?'  
'I think she's nice. She can prank too'  
'You like her!'  
'Do not!'  
'Do too!'  
'You know I can hear you?' Ashley spoke up, causing the two boys to look at her and blush, before bowing their heads together and talking quietly, before returning back to where Ashley was sitting a few minutes later.  
'We've decided-' Fred began  
'That you can be our friend' George continued  
'And why would I want that?'  
'Because we're awesome' Fred said, 'Who wouldn't want to be friends with us?!'  
'I think I already know which twin is the nicer one' Ashley said, smiling at George  
'Ha! The pretty girl prefers me!' George joked, blushing slightly 'Oh and we don't think your personality is abonimble … abomnaible … abomnabie … you know what we mean'  
'Yeah' Ashley smiled, 'Thanks' she added, hugging George and Fred in turn._

'Having fun, darlin'?' Rookwood asked, making Ashley shudder  
'What do you want?'  
'Do you not listen?' he began, sounding irritated 'I want to kill you!'  
'Of course I listen, you cretin' she muttered, glaring slightly 'But I just figured you'd have some extravagant plan, instead of just saying "I want to kill you", that's not exactly inventive, is it?'  
'Well, what would just killing you do? I like this whole game'  
'You're a weird dude. Can't you just kill me and get it over with?'  
'Not quite yet, love' Rookwood said. 'Like you said, I need a good plan first.'  
'Bloody hell, it's not really that much of a difficult task to perform, it's two simple words, Merlin, can't you just get it over with already? It's taking far too long for you to get an easy task done'  
'And now you want to die … I might wait a little longer' he said, before disappearing again.  
'I can't believe I thought I'd be a Ravenclaw' she muttered to herself,

* * *

So..yeah, another chapter.  
I'm pretty sure in an earlier chapter I said Ashley's mum was a muggle, but I meant Muggleborn (hence the Slytherin thing)  
and I like writing flashbacks, so hence flashback.

Erm...yeah, please review and tell me what you think :)


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21  
'Mum, you have to tell us where she went!' Ron exclaimed to his mother  
'Yeah! What if she's in danger?!' Ginny added  
'I can tell you that she is perfectly fine,-'  
'But what if she isn't?!' Ron asked, 'What if he's got her?!'  
'Because I know she is alright, Ronald!' Mrs Weasley argued  
'But-' Ginny started  
'No buts! You do not need to know!'  
'She's my best friend, mum!' Ginny moaned 'Other than Hermione, of course, I just want to make sure that she's okay!' After this Mrs Weasley stopped for a second, then sighed slightly  
'Please?' Ron asked  
'Fine, if you are all in dire need to know then I suppose I do have to tell you' Mrs Weasley sighed 'She's staying at the Leaky Cauldron for a few days before she knows where she wants to go'  
'Really?' Charlie said, frowning  
'Yes, why?' Mrs Weasley said  
'I just didn't think she'd be staying somewhere so close to use, I figured she'd stay far away' Charlie shrugged  
'Well, that's where she's staying, and I'm sure she won't mind you visiting if needs be' Mrs Weasley said  
'Well … could we go now?' Ginny asked, slightly wary  
'I'm sure you could if you wanted to, dear' Mrs Weasley said, 'Just don't be long, and do not tell George where she is, alright? Oh, and Charlie, could you stay behind for a few more minutes? I want to speak to you about something'  
'Alright, mum' Charlie sighed, whilst Ron and Ginny went into the other room 'What's wrong?'  
'I just wanted to say that when I spoke to Ashley she was on about leaving the country to study, and-'  
'and because you know I travel quite a bit you want me to check in on her if I'm in the same country?'  
'Well,' Mrs Weasley began, smiling slightly  
'Mum, I already knew you were going to ask me that the second she left, no worries'  
'Thank you, dear'  
'No problem' Charlie grinned, then followed after his youngest brother and sister, where he was greeted by Harry and Hermione, who were currently playing Wizards Chess  
'So, did you find out?' Harry asked, not taking his eyes from the game  
'Yeah, we did' Ron said  
'So we were thinking of going now' Ginny then said  
'Sounds gre- Blimey, Hermione!' he said loudly, as Hermione destroyed another one of his chess pieces  
'… So stop playing' Ginny said, raising her eyebrow at Harry  
'We're almost done' Hermione said, before destroying another of Harry's pieces  
'I think we can tell at this point who's going to win' Ron said, smiling slightly  
'Obviously' Harry said, 'I give up, Hermione'  
'I was wondering how long it would take' she said, smiling at Harry  
'Anyway, where is she?'  
'Leaky Cauldron' Ron said, 'Think we should apparate there?'  
'May as well' Ginny said, 'It's quicker'  
'Come on then' Harry said, before holding one of his arms out, to which Ginny took and the two disapparated. Hermione and Ron then apparated, followed by Charlie.

-oOo-

'What on earth…' Ginny said upon entering Ashley's room  
'What in the name of Merlin did she do…?' Ron asked, frowning at the broken dresser  
'I'm somehow very doubtful that she did this' said Hermione, before looking worriedly at Harry, who understood immediately  
'Rookwood' he stated, before glancing around at the others, who looked equally worried.  
'So what do we do now?' Charlie asked 'We can't exactly find her, there's only 5 of us…'  
'We'll have to tell Mum' Ron said, 'I mean, she could help somehow'  
'What about George?' Ginny said, 'He can't exactly not know, can he?'  
'Well…' Hermione began, turning to Harry and Ron as if waiting to hear an answer  
'I don't know!' Ron stated, shrugging his shoulders 'If he thinks she's missing there's two possible things he could do; a) he'd try as hard as he possibly could to find her and get her back or b) he'd go back to his room and stay in there for a couple more months without speaking to anyone!'  
'We should tell mum first, see what she says' Charlie said 'As for now, I reckon we get out of here as soon as possible, don't want Rookwood coming back to find out that we know he's taken her. Anything could happen'  
'When did you get so smart?' Ron asked, frowning  
'I've always been smart, you just didn't understand, little brother' Charlie said.

-oOo-

After the five had apparated back to the Burrow, Ron immediately ran into the kitchen and found his mother  
'Mum! Rookwoods taken her!' he said, to which Mrs Weasley stopped what she was doing almost instantaneously  
'What?!' she shouted, as Charlie, Harry, Hermione and Ginny walked into the room.  
'Well, we apparated there' Ron began, shrugging  
'And then when we got there' Hermione continued  
'The dresser had been destroyed' Harry added  
'And Ashley was gone' Ginny ended  
'So, yeah, we came back here to tell you because we don't really know what to do' Charlie said  
'And we don't know whether or not to tell George' Ginny added,  
'This is exactly why I did not want her to move out of here! Now she's gone missing!' Mrs Weasley shouted  
'Who's missing…?' George said, entering the kitchen slowly  
'Oh, George dear, are you alright?' Mrs Weasley asked, sounding slightly sympathetic,  
'Yeah, I'm fine' he said quickly 'Who's missing?', his mother didn't reply, causing him to frown at her 'Mum?' at this Mrs Weasley left the room, causing  
George to frown and look confusedly at where his mother had gone 'Okay … you lot can answer my question, who's gone missing?'  
'Just someone' Ginny said, trying to sound nonchalant  
'I figured that much' George said, sounding somewhat annoyed  
'Mate, it's probably best we don't tell you' Charlie said  
'See, I think it would be best if you did tell me' he said, clenching his jaw  
'George, I'm pretty sure you already know who we're on about, you just don't want to believe it' Charlie said,  
'That's why I asked' George began, swallowing a lump in his throat 'Because if it's the person I think it is, we need to get her back. Now.'

-oOo-

Ashley's P.O.V

I don't know why, but I always thought being kidnapped by a murderer would be more … I don't know, entertaining?  
So far all I've done is sit down on the floor and reminisce about shit.  
It's not as fun as it might sound.

I wish I had my iPod.

Or, I wish I hadn't even left the Burrow in the first place, that'd probably make everything a whole lot easier, because I'd probably just be asleep right now, or eating … or playing Quidditch with Harry, Ron and Ginny.  
Any of them sound good to be right now, even Quidditch with Ron.  
Well, good compared to sitting in an empty, cold house completely alone with a Death Eather who randomly shows up for about 5 seconds every so often to check I haven't gone, but I don't see how I could go anywhere. The bastard took my wand, so I can't unlock the doors, I can't apparate and there's wood panel stuff over the windows, so unless I crawled up the chimney I'm fucked.  
I could crawl up the chimney … no, Ashley, you can't crawl up the chimney.

I really wish I wasn't alone right now.  
I wouldn't even care who it was who was with me, I wouldn't even mind Lee, I mean, I love the guy but after a few constant days with him he kinda makes me wanna cut his hair off … I can barely remember the first time I even met him, I'm pretty sure I was with Fred and George on the train in first year …

Normal P.O.V

_'Ashley! You're going to be late for the train if you don't hurry up!' Mr Redford yelled up the stairs to his 11 year old daughter 'We need to meet the Weasleys in 5 minutes!'  
'I'm almost ready, Dad!' Ashley yelled, whilst closing the lid on her trunk, then sliding it of her bed and dragging it out of her room, she slowly lugged it to the top of the stairs, then glanced down towards the bottom, then back at the trunk 'Daaaaaaad, will you help me?'  
'What now?' her father asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs 'Oh, right', he performed some sort of spell and the trunk rose from the ground then slowly floated to the bottom  
'What's that spell called?'  
'Ah, that one's called 'Wingardium Leviosa', Ashley'  
'Wingardium Leviosa' she repeated 'Levi-oh-sa … When do I get to learn stuff like that?' Ashley asked, stomping down the stairs  
'This year, most probably' her father said 'Ready to go?'  
'Yes' Ashley said, placing a hand on his arm. There was a jerk somewhere near her navel and she felt like she was being forced through a very small tube, she could barely breath at all before she landed on her feet, glanced around and saw she was at the platform.  
'I think I'm going to be sick' she said, staggering slightly  
'You'll get that the first time' her father said, wrapping his arm over her shoulder 'Now, where are they … Ah! There!' he said, dragging her off towards the red-haired family.  
'Ashley!' Mrs Weasley exclaimed, pulling her into a tight hug 'You remember Ron, he's coming up in a few years, and Percy of course he's in his second year now, Charlie, he's leaving soon … where on earth are Fred and George?… '  
'Right here, mum' Fred said, appearing from behind Mrs Weasley  
'Oh, right, Fred  
'He's not Fred, I am!' George said, appearing from the other side of her  
'Oh, sorry, Fred. Anyway, Ashley's here now'  
'Great!' the real Fred said, looking towards Ashley 'We haven't seen you ages!'  
'You saw me the other day' Ashley said, smiling 'In Diagon Alley?'  
'Oh yeah … ' Fred said  
'Well that didn't really count-' George continued  
'Cause we didn't get to speak to you that much-' Fred added  
'And now we do' they both ended, grinning  
'Oh, and we have a load of pranks set out for this year' George said  
'No you have not!' Mrs Weasley said 'NO MORE PRANKS OR I WILL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME'  
'You wouldn't-' Fred began  
'You're glad to be rid of us' George grinned  
'Well, I suppose you're right' Mrs Weasley muttered, she was about to continue before being interrupted by Ginny, who had begun whining about not being  
able to go to Hogwarts yet, as she was only 8.  
'Don't worry, we'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat' Fred grinned  
'You will not!' Mrs Weasley scolded  
'We won't, mum' George said, trying to act as innocent as possible whilst Fred smirked. Mrs Weasley looked as if she was about to respond before there was a  
loud whistling noise from the train  
'Oh! You're going to miss it! Get on, get on!' she said loudly, shoving the three children onto the train just as it had begun moving. Fred, George and Ashley  
fought their way through the crowded corridors filled with older children to find an empty compartment, however the closest they actually came to this was a carriage with boy with long black dreadlocks, the three glanced towards each other and nodded, sliding the carriage door open  
'Erm … mind if we sit in here?' Fred asked,  
'Sure, no problem' the boy replied, looking up at them. At this point it was obvious that this boy was the same age as them – or a second year at the most, although considering he didn't have any house colour on his robes he was obviously a first year.  
'Thanks, I'm George Weasley' Fred said, smiling at the boy and walking into the compartment  
'Fred you are such a liar!' Ashley said, smirking slightly as she followed the real George into the compartment, sitting between the twins  
'How dare you accuse me of such a thing!' he grinned '…Even though it is true' he said towards the boy with the dreadlocks 'I'm Fred Weasley, this is George, my twin – obviously'  
'I'm Lee Jordan, who's the girl?'  
'I'm Ash-'  
'She's no one important, to be honest she just follows us around all the time … from what we've heard she's quite evil' Fred interrupted, smirking slightly as George stretched his arm around Ashley and hit him over the back of his head, then left his arm around her  
'As I was saying,' she said, glaring at Fred 'I'm Ashley Redford'  
'Cool, nice to meet you' Lee said  
'Yeah, you'll come to realise in a few hours that I am – in fact – not the evil one, it's Fred here who's evil' Ashley said, smiling 'I'm actually a lovely person – deep down, of course.'  
'Noted' Lee grinned, 'So-' he frowned, then looked at the three of them 'You're George' he said, pointing his finger at George, 'And your twin is Fred, obviously' he pointed at Fred, 'And then there's Ashley, who is your … cousin? Or something?'  
'No relation' George said_ quickly  
'Thank_ Merlin' Ashley smirked 'If I was related to you two I don't know what I would do … well, technically that's a lie, I'd probably tell everyone that I wasn't related to you at all'  
'Well that's rude' George smirked  
'Well, I'd probably come up with some weird thing where I wasn't related to Fred, I'm not so fussed about the rest of you, you're all lovely – it's Fred who's a prat' she said, smirking at Fred  
'Told you I was right, Fred, she'd rather have me than you' George grinned  
'Yeah, as a cousin' Fred smirked 'Sorry, mate. She's now officially off-limits...unless you like incest and everything, in which case go ahead'  
'Hilarious' Ashley muttered, glaring at Fred, who rolled his eyes  
'Please, you two should be glad you're not related, the amount of flirting you do it'd be worrying if you were … actually, the amount of flirting you do in the first place is worrying considering you're both 11'  
'Shut up, Fred' George said, smacking his brother over the back of his head  
'So, Lee' Ashley began, trying to change the subject 'What do you do?'  
'Whaddya mean?' he frowned  
'Well, like, in your spare time … what do you do?' Fred asked 'Quidditch? Studying?'  
'I prank people' Lee replied, smiling slightly, causing Fred, George and Ashley to look at each other and grin, whilst Lee continued 'I got thrown out of my primary school because I accidentally turned my headteacher into a slug … though my parents were pleased in all honesty, they were wondering why I hadn't shown any sign of magical ability, so I got given a load of stuff for doing something wrong' he smirked  
'Boys, I think this is going to be a **very** fun year' Ashley said, grinning at Fred and George, who nodded in unison.  
_

* * *

Another chapteeer.  
I feel weird if I don't write anything at the end, even though I've got nothing to actually say...  
So, yeah, please review and yeah... :L


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

'It's not that easy, mate' Ron said, giving a slightly sympathetic smile towards George  
'We have no idea where she is' Ginny added,  
'Well then find her!' George shouted, before sinking into a chair  
'George, we're going to find her' Charlie said, sitting next to him and placing a hand on his back 'I swear'  
'You have too' he said 'I can't - I can't lose her as well'  
'You won't have too' Ginny said,  
'Yeah, I mean, we found Horcruxes, and they were impossible. So I'm sure we can find a normal sized girl' Ron said, smiling slightly  
'Where was she staying?' George asked  
'Err - The Leaky Cauldron' Ginny said  
'I have to go' George said, standing up quickly  
'Don't do anything stupid, George' Charlie said, raising his eyebrows at his younger brother  
'And when have I ever done anything stupid?' George said, before walking out  
'… Did those words just come from the mouth of **George Weasley**, or am I hearing things?' Hermione asked, frowning at all the others in the room  
'No … you're not hearing things … the words 'When have I ever done anything stupid' did just come from the **man **who makes a living from making products to prank people with, the man who is the most immature person I've ever met and the man who makes a fool out of himself daily' Charlie said slowly, frowning  
'Well … this could be an eventful few weeks' Ginny said.

-oOo-

George apparated to The Leaky Cauldron, walking into the main room and stopping a few moments to speak to Tom, as he had no idea at all what room Ashley had been in.  
'Tom, I have a question' he asked, tapping his fingers on one of the tables  
'Which is?'  
'When was the last time you saw Ashley?'  
'Ah, no idea … few days ago, she hasn't been down in days, think she's gone somewhere else if I'm honest'  
'What room was she in?' George asked  
'11 … why do you ask?'  
'Just wanted to drop by and see her' George said, 'Thanks, Tom' he added, before walking off towards Room 11.  
'Please be in here. Please be in here. Please be in here.' he repeated to himself whilst walking down the corridor, once he reached the door 'pleasepleaseplease' he took a deep breath and swung the door open, being greeted by the view of a completely empty room that simply contained a bed, wardrobe and the remains of a dresser. 'Fuck'.

**George's P.O.V**

She's not here. That means he has her. Shit.  
What if he kills her? I can't live without her. She's the only good thing in my life right now.  
She can't go. I need to find her, but how? I can't exactly trace her, she's way over 17. And I'm completely sure that Rookwood git is too by the look of his face.  
Okay, so he'll probably take her somewhere that means a lot to her  
So that could be Hogwarts? No, I doubt he'd be that stupid.  
I definitely would have noticed if they were at home.  
The Orchard? He doesn't know that means anything to her … at least I don't think he does …  
Where's Remus buried? Is he even buried?…  
Shell cottage? No … that's where the Order were… and Bill's still there now …  
Her house? No way, her parents are there.  
Her old house … it's empty, dark, in the middle of nowhere and it means something...

Worth a shot I suppose.

**Normal P.O.V**

'HE HAS DONE WHAT?!' Mrs Weasley yelled at her children, Harry, and Hermione  
'Well … he kinda erm - left' Ron said, looking down at the floor  
'AND YOU LET HIM!?'  
'Well, we didn't really know what else to do' Charlie said  
'Charlie, you're the oldest here! You tell him not to go!' Mrs Weasley said  
'It's not as if he can do anything when he's there, mum' Ginny said 'I think he just wanted to check if she was actually gone'  
'Well, let's hope he comes back' Mrs Weasley said, turning the opposite way and walking out  
'What if he doesn't come back … ?' Ginny asked  
'What do you mean?' Ron said  
'Well, Fred's gone … and now Ashley' Ginny said, looking worried  
'He wouldn't … least I don't think he would-' Ron said.  
'Let's hope not' Harry said

-oOo-

_'So I'm guessing all first years cross the lake by using the boats, Hagrid?' George asked  
'Course' he replied, 'Like to make a good impression and everythin' 'ere'  
'Well it's working' Ashley said, 'It's really pretty'  
'You're such a girl' Fred smirked  
'Wonder why that is, Fred?' Ashley said, rolling her eyes 'Perhaps you've only just noticed but I am in fact a girl'  
'Trust me, George noticed a while ago' Fred sniggered, causing George to smack him over the back of his head again 'Stop hitting me!'  
'Stop saying stuff like that then!' George argued  
'Well it's true! You did notice she was a girl!' Fred said, 'Unless you're gay' he said quietly to himself,  
'I heard that' George growled  
'Good for you' Fred smirked, whilst he, George, Ashley and Lee climbed into one of the boats, which immediately started moving across the black water  
'This is kinda weird' Ashley said, looking over the edge of the boat and running her fingers across the top of the water  
'Why?' George frowned  
'I don't know, I guess I still feel weird about the fact that the boat is moving by itself – I mean, I know it's magic that's making it move – but it's just curious'  
'Yeah, you're going to be a Ravenclaw' Fred spoke up from the front of the boat 'Just like when you were five'  
'I'm fine with Ravenclaw' Ashley murmured, looking down into the lake still 'At least I'll be around intelligent people instead of you two'  
'I resent that' Fred smirked 'We are smart, just not focused enough'  
'Sure, sure' Ashley smirked, whilst the boats glided across the surface of the water until they reached the castle.  
'It's huge' Fred muttered, looking up at the castle  
'I'm kinda nervous now' Ashley said, 'We have to walk into the hall, which is full of students from every house and every year'  
'You'll be fine' George muttered, looking up at the castle the same as Fred  
'Righ' suppose we 'ad better make a move' Hagrid said, then directed the children towards the castle, where they were greeted by a tall, thin woman in green robes  
'__Welcome to __Hogwarts, I am Professor McGonagall. Now, in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now, while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. So, make a single line and we will make our way into the Great Hall and you will be sorted' McGonagall said, causing the students to immediately shuffle into a straight line – or as straight as they could make it. A few seconds later the doors slowly swung open and they began to walk into the hall, there were candles floating around 10 feet above the tables, and a single stool with a hat at the end of the hall. On the way towards the front, Ashley saw Fred and George's older brother, Percy, sitting at the Gryffindor table – he practically ignored her, as she got closer to the hat she saw their other brother, Charlie, he smiled at her, Fred and George and made a move to show he was crossing his fingers, eventually they stopped moving and Professor McGonagall pulled out a roll of parchment,  
'Broklehurst, Mandy' after she said this, a small girl made her way towards the front, the hat immediately shouted Ravenclaw.  
'Bletchley, Miles' he was sorted into Slytherin.  
'Davies, Roger' another Ravenclaw  
'Diggory, Cedric' the hat seemed to take a longer time making it's decision, until eventually it decided on Hufflepuff  
'Eastchurch, Felicity' Ravenclaw. Slowly the line got smaller until someone was sorted into Gryffindor, it was a girl named Angelina Johnson, who Fred winked at as she walked past, causing Ashley to slap his arm  
'Jordan, Lee' McGonagall called, the boy from the train made his way to the front and sat down, almost immediately the hat yelled Gryffindor, Lee grinned and hopped off the seat, walking towards the Gryffindor table.  
'Montague, Heidi' Hufflepuff. After this Ashley zoned out for a while, until she heard her own name being called  
'Redford, Ashley' she took a deep breath and slowly made her way towards the stool, climbing onto it  
'Hmm' the hat said into her ear 'You are a tricky one to place … the intelligence of a Ravenclaw – though I wouldn't necessarily say you value knowledge over loyalty – meaning you could be a Hufflepuff – however, you're much too cunning to be a Hufflepuff … Slytherin perhaps? No … you don't have the right – attributes, too daring … suppose it had better be GRYFFINDOR' Ashley's eyes widened as she got off the stool and made her way towards the Gryffindor table, where Charlie Weasley was grinning, she turned to Fred and George who had identical grins spread across their faces,  
'Congratulations' Charlie whispered in her ear as she sat down  
'I'm almost positive the hats wrong,' she smirked  
'The hats never wrong' Charlie smiled,  
'So, Lee, looks like you'll have to deal with me a bit longer' she said to the boy  
'I'm sure I can deal with it' he grinned, they then turned their attention back to the sorting, until eventually there were only a few people left  
'Weasley, Fred' McGonagall called, Fred made his way to the front and sat down on the stool, it seemed to take a while to sort him and he looked as if he was arguing with the hat about something, until he finally smiled as the hat yelled  
'GRYFFINDOR', with a smirk Fred jumped off the stool and ran towards Ashley, hugging her  
'Get off me!' she said, smirking as she said it  
'The bloody hat tried to convince me I was a Slytherin' Fred groaned, plonking himself between Ashley and Charlie  
'Seriously?' Charlie asked, a smirk threatening to appear on his face  
'Yes' Fred groaned, he was about to continued before McGonagall spoke  
'Weasley, George', George slowly made his way to the hat and sat down, he, like Fred, seemed to be arguing with the hat over something,  
'GRYFFINDOR' the hat yelled a few seconds later, whilst George smirked and made his way over to the table, sitting on the other side of Ashley  
'What happened?' Fred asked 'You looked like you were going to kill the hat'  
'Tried to tell me I was a Slytherin, then it said I was a Hufflepuff' he muttered darkly  
'Me too!' Fred said 'Well, other than the Hufflepuff part …'  
'I think I beat you all' Ashley smirked 'Apparently I'm all four'  
'Can't believe you're a Gryffindor' Fred smirked  
'Yeah, you're stuck with us for 7 years now' George grinned  
'I'm sure I'll make some new friends, so I'm good' Ashley smiled  
'Nope, you're not allowed to ditch us now, it's the rules' George smirked, wrapping an arm over her shoulder._

'Interrupted something, have I?' Rookwood said, appearing from nowhere  
'Not really' Ashley said, through gritted teeth  
'Well what's wrong, sweetheart?'  
'Don't call me that' she growled 'and let me go or kill me'  
'Like I said before, love' he began 'I'm coming up with a plan'  
'Maybe you should think about it more often then, it seems like your brain isn't able to function unless you're thinking about a certain task all the time'  
'I'm close to coming up with something' he sneered 'just be patient'  
'I don't need to be patient! It's my life, I should get to control it!' she hissed  
'Well, soon you won't have a life' he said smirking, before disapparating.  
'You don't say' she muttered to the open space.

* * *

So, I'm uploading this at 1:00 A.M because All Time Low have kept me awake (and Slenderman, but let's not get into that :L)

Okay, so you should all review because Alex Gaskarth and Ben Bruce say you should :3

Thanks for reaaaaaading this far :) (i promise it's almost over...sort of...not really)


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

**George's P.O.V  
**I must be going completely bloody insane. There is no possible way that Rookwood will have taken Ashley to her old house. He probably doesn't even know that she moved in the first place! It's not like Death Eaters take much care in finding out all the background history of whoever the person is they're trying to kill next...I think...I really should have spoken to Harry about this, considering he's Auror in training and all that...but whatever, I'm supposing that they're always trying to kill someone  
But hopefully he's not going to try and kill Ashley.  
Who am I kidding, she's most probably already dead, she's been with him for a while now.

George, stop thinking shit like that, it's not going to make you feel better. So right now, stop thinking about shit and actually do something helpful.  
Unfortunately the only productive thing that you are actually able to do right now is to go to her old house and see if she's there, hopefully she is, but if she isn't then you'll have to come up with a new plan, it's not exactly the end of the world.  
At least not just yet.  
Although I suppose there is just one slight problem with this plan.

I have absolutely no idea where her old house is, it could be anywhere for all I know.  
I can't apparate there because I don't know what it looks like, or anywhere around it.  
I can't use Floo powder, because, again, I have no idea where it is and they probably don't have the fire anyway, her mother probably didn't want one.

This could be somewhat problematic.  
Scratch that; very problematic.

Oh! I'll apparate back and hint to mum or dad about asking where they lived. I mean, it'll probably end up being dad...mum will probably just scream at me and tell me not to go after her.  
So let's start with asking Dad, I'm almost positive he's going to know; but if he doesn't then I suppose I'm stuck asking mum...

**Normal P.O.V**

'Mum?! Dad?!' George yelled, walking into the kitchen in hopes of finding at least one of his parents, instead he found Ron and Harry, who were talking.  
'What's wrong?' Ron asked, frowning  
'I need to ask mum and dad something, have you seen them?'  
'Dad's at work and mum went to Diagon Alley for something' Ron said  
'What did you need to ask?' Harry questioned  
'I need to find out where Ashley used to live, and I figure they'll know, cause I haven't got a fucking clue'  
'What's going on?' Ginny asked, as her and Hermione walked into the kitchen  
'George wanted to ask mum and dad something' Ron said  
'Well what did he want?' Ginny asked, as Ron glanced over at George, who sighed  
'I want to know where Ashley used to live' George said 'I think he might have taken her there with him, considering it's abandoned and probably in the middle of nowhere.'  
'Why didn't I think of that!' Hermione hissed under her breath, making George smile slightly  
'Probably because you've been busy thinking of all the other stupid places that he could possibly have taken her, Granger'  
'Most probably' Hermione said, still looking irritated but tried to shrug it off.  
'Right...so, basically, you think that she could be there?' Harry asked, changing the subject back  
'Well I was thinking of places that would be important to her, and most of them have a load of people there, so he wouldn't go'  
'That's actually quite brilliant' Hermione said  
'Of course it is' George said 'It's my idea'  
'Don't start getting cocky just yet, big head.' Ron said  
'Shut it' George smiled, 'Wait … would any of you guys know where she used to live?'  
'Me and Harry are definitely out of this one' Hermione said 'Bill or Charlie could quite possibly know? They're the oldest, they'd probably remember more about where they went and where it was'  
'Bill'd probably remember, mate' Ron said, 'Then at least if he doesn't, Charlie might. Worst comes to worst you can ask Percy, though hopefully the measures won't have to be that extreme'  
'That's actually better than my original plan' George said  
'Which was?' Ginny asked  
'Asking mum if she knew but trying to pass it off as a simple question'  
'I wouldn't suggest that' Ron said, quickly 'She'd see straight through it'  
'Yeah, and she's already annoyed that you went after her before, when she knew Rookwood wouldn't be there' Harry added  
'Well, she'll just have to live with my decision, I'm not leaving Ashley to get killed' George said, 'I'm going to go and see Bill, see if he knows … don't tell mum  
that I've come back and gone again, okay?'  
'We're not stupid' Ginny said  
'Well, some of us might be' Harry said, glancing towards Ron slightly  
'Oi!' Ron said 'Did you hear what he just said, Hermione?!'  
'Yes, and of course he's wrong' Hermione said, then shook her head at Harry when Ron turned away, grinning  
'Merlin, I thought I had problems but you lot are all kinds of weirdo's, aren't you?' George said, before giving a sly smirk and disapparating.

-oOo-

'Oi! Bill! You in?' George yelled as soon as he entered Shell Cottage, hearing a loud creak from one of the rooms upstairs  
'What's wrong?' Bill asked, his face appearing at the bottom of the stairs  
'I wanted to ask you something, cause if you don't know then I'll have to ask Charlie and if he doesn't know I'll have to find Percy, Merlin knows I don't want to talk to him, then if Percy doesn't know I'll have to ask dad, then if dad doesn't know then I'll be forced to ask-'  
'George, I get it' Bill smiled 'What did you want to ask?'  
'Well – erm, do you know where Ashley used to live? When she was younger, I mean?'  
'Err-yeah, hold on a sec' Bill said, disappearing from his site for a few seconds, before coming into the room George was in holding a piece of parchment with writing on it between his fingers 'Why do you need it?' he asked, before giving it to him  
'Ashley left the house because she said that we wouldn't work out, she went to stay at The Leaky Cauldron for a while before she decided on where she wanted to go, Rookwood showed up there and he's taken her to somewhere remote and -quite possibly- important to her. So I'm thinking she might be at her old house, because that's honestly the only place I can think of and if she isn't there then I don't know what I'll do, at all, because I don't know where else to go, but I'm hoping that it's going to be first time lucky instead of third or whatever' he said in one breath  
'Bloody hell … a lot's happened since I left … Oh, and try not to forget to breathe, George' Bill muttered, then shoved the parchment towards George 'Here'  
'Brilliant!' George exclaimed 'Thanks, Bill, you're now officially my favourite brother'  
'I thought that was Percy?'  
'Definitely' George smiled, 'Anyway, I have to go, don't tell mum you've told me this, right?'  
'I won't...' Bill said, warily 'But before you go, try not to get yourself in to much trouble … and don't do anything stupid.  
'Why does everyone think I'm always going to do something stupid?!' George asked, smirking slightly  
'Think it might have something to do with your job, personality, history … etc'  
'It's more than likely that you're right, however I have no time to argue, as I need to go, Later, Bill!' he said quickly, then disapparated to the closest place he could think of to the address scrawled across the piece of scrap paper in Bill's handwriting.

* * *

Oooooookay, so, yeah..I feel weird if I don't actually write anything here; but I don't actually have anything to say...at all...  
Umm...

Rawr. :3

I'm sorry that I'm so weird.  
And I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me, but I can't help that I'm so popular.

I have no idea why I'm still writing this.

Anyway, reviews please? :3


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

'Fascinating, muggle houses' Rookwood said, as he looked around the old house, turning his attention towards the fire place 'No Floo powder, hmm'  
'Like you said before, it's a muggle house' Ashley spat  
'Oh, I almost forgot you were here, love'  
'What on Earth would I have done if you'd forgotten me' Ashley said, her words practically dripping with sarcasm  
'Here I was being nice to you' Rookwood said 'I was almost about to tell you about my plan for you'  
'Go ahead'  
'That would ruin it though, wouldn't it?'  
'Not necessarily. If you tell me I can act like I am in much more pain than I actually am'  
'But I'd like to see the look of shock on your face'  
'Fine. Just get it over with.'  
'Let's start off with something simple' Rookwood stated  
'Which would be what exac-' Ashley began, but her words were cut short by the man shouting  
'Crucio!', she fell to the floor quickly, this wasn't the first time she had been under the curse, and by the looks of it nor would it be her last, but it was still surprising at how much it actually hurt each time. She felt as if hot daggers were being pressed into her skin whilst at the same time ice was burning against her flesh. It stopped for a moment and she tried to catch her breath, but was cut short by the pain returning, she tried to fight it, yet failed. He then stopped again  
'Simple?' Ashley scoffed  
'What, it too much for you love?'  
'No' Ashley hissed 'I just thought considering you've had practically millions of days to think of something, you'd have a plan far more imaginative than that'  
'I have' Rookwood defended 'I'm building up to the big finale'  
'Which is?'  
'Your death?' he stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world  
'Ah, but of course … how could I be so stupid' Ashley said 'So, what, are you just going to carry on using Crucio on me? Because that's not very inventive you know'  
'Is that not obvious either?' he said, laughing slightly  
'I suppose it has to be obvious, doesn't it' Ashley spat back, he smiled at this, before screaming spells at her once more. 'You know, at first I thought you were weird, now I just think you're crazy' she said in the short length of time she had before he would continue with the curses.  
'Love, I'm both'  
'Don't call me that' she hissed 'And I wouldn't necessarily say that's something one usually admits to' Ashley said, he laughed at this. Before casting Crucio once more, it continued like this until Ashley slipped into unconsciousness  
'It's going to be a shame killing someone so funn-'  
'Then I suppose it's a good thing you won't be killing her' a voice spoke up 'Stupefy!', at this Rookwood flew back and hit a brick wall, making it fall down. George looked around the room frantically before his eyes rested on Ashley, he saw that she was lying on the floor, looking practically normal, other than a few cuts. He sprinted over to her and knelt down beside her, noticing on closer inspection that she was extremely pale and that her body was completely limp  
'No, no, no … Ash, don't be dead. Please, merlin, don't be dead. I love you! You can't leave me here by myself' he said to her quietly. George heard a slight noise come from behind him, he turned his head to see that Rookwood was standing up and holding his wand  
'Ooh, goody, so I get to kill the first twin, the second twin and the second twins girlfriend? This is almost to good to be true', he then pointed his wand towards George 'Avada-'  
'Expelliarmus!' a new voice yelled, George turned around to see Harry, who quickly cast another spell on Rookwood that blew him back into the wall, then walked over to George  
'Take her back' George stated  
'What?!' Harry asked, sounding completely alarmed  
'I said take her back!'  
'George, no, I can hel-'  
'Harry! Take her back, now! yes, I know that she's most probably dead, but take her back, I can't leave her here'  
'George you take her back, I'll-'  
'No, Harry!' George yelled 'I'll deal with this git, you take her back! I have to kill this bloody idiot, he's killed my brother and the girl I love, I can't let someone else kill him', after this Harry looked as if he was thinking something over  
'Fine' Harry stated 'But if you need help, send your patronus or come back, alright?'  
'Alright, mum' George joked, causing Harry to role his eyes then grab Ashley's hand, before disappearing. George turned towards the wall to see Rookwood was gone, and that his wand was no longer on the floor. But something told him that he was still in the building 'You may as well come out' George yelled 'I know you're here … I don't feel like playing hide and seek, really', at this, the voice simply laughed  
'But what fun would that be? It'd just be a duel then, duels are rather boring, don't you agree? It's much better to take the time and come up with a plan'  
'Personally I've never had the time for people who take their time with things' George stated 'Takes far too long to get the simplest of tasks done, it's irritating after a while, I much prefer being reckless'  
'Ah, yes, you're a Gryffindor, aren't you? That pathetic house, Slytherin was always far better in my opinion. Guess I'll show myself then' Rookwood said, at this George turned and made sure he could see all possible entrances to the room. He heard a creaking noise to his right  
'Expelliarmus!' George yelled in the direction,  
'Ha, nice try, little one' the voice taunted 'but you missed, by about 3 inches'  
'Arse' George muttered, making the voice laugh hysterically  
'Care to try again?'  
'This isn't really a fair game, is it?' George stated 'You being able to see me, but me not being able to see you? It's rather an unfair advantage'  
'Hm. I suppose you are right,' at this, the figure stalked out into the room George was currently standing in  
'Bloody hell, you look worse than before' George stated  
'Said the ginger haired, freckly boy with a large nose' Rookwood said back, making George scoff  
'Least I could get a girlfriend, mate' he grinned, making Rookwood glare at him  
'I would rather have no girlfriend than have had a half-blood.'  
'Expellia-' George began, but was interrupted  
'Crucio!' Rookwood yelled, making George fall to the floor, writhing in pain, before it suddenly stopped, leaving him feeling drained of energy  
'That your trademark curse?' George asked, panting  
'Well it works, doesn't it?' he questioned 'Get up', he continued, walking over to George and kicking him, George slowly got to his feet 'Let's continue that conversation, shall we? It seemed to get the correct reaction from you'  
'What do you mean?'  
'Well, when I speak badly of your little girlfriend-'  
'Not my girlfriend' George grunted  
'Yes, of course' Rookwood said, with a wave of his hand 'Anyway, whenever I speak badly of her it brings out a certain reaction in you, between anger and an emotion I cannot seem to place...'  
'Love most probably, you Death Eaters always seemed to have a problem with that' George said quickly, without thinking  
'Ahh...so you love the half-blood? How pathetic the emotion is, it is simply a distraction in the path to success'  
'I care to disagree' George hissed 'Now, may we continue?'  
'Whatever you wish,' Rookwood said, giving a fake smile  
'I want to know something first off'  
'Which is?'  
'Why did you bother with this whole thing? Why didn't you just kill her straight away instead of kidnapping her, bringing her here and torturing her to death? What's so different about doing it here, than somewhere else?'  
'I don't like doing things simply, as if you do something simply you don't get the feeling of pride that you would get from doing something much more difficult'  
'That makes a form of twisted sense' George admitted 'However kidnapping a 19 year old is definitely not the way to gain pride for normal people'  
'Well, like I said to your little girlfriend' he began, adding emphasis to the word "girlfriend", 'I'm not what you would call normal'  
'I'm sure' George hissed  
'Do you want to know what she said about you?' Rookwood asked  
'What did she say?' George asked, slightly confused  
'She said she thought you were a pathetic waste of space' he lied 'and that she preferred your brother, but since he died, she'd settle for you', at this something inside George snapped  
'Stu-'  
'Sectumsempra!' Rookwood yelled. George felt something like a sword cut straight across from his shoulder to the bottom of his stomach, he looked down to see a thin red line that was slowly becoming thicker across his shirt, 'Pathetic' Rookwood sneered 'that girl was right, you are terrible at spells, no wonder you lost that' he continued, pointing towards George's ear – or where his ear had been, 'well, I guess that fits. You lost your ear, lost your brother and lost your girlfriend, wonder what else I can take from you?'  
'Avada Kedavra!' George yelled, a flash of green light illuminated the entire room, disappearing a few seconds later and suddenly the light that was in Rookwoods eyes disappeared, his eyelids closed and he fell to the floor, completely motionless. George felt pain spread across his chest, remembering that he had a giant cut, that was still bleeding rather heavily, he started to feel faint. 'Shit' he muttered, then apparated away to the burrow.

* * *

Okay, so yes I made George kill someone and I probably shouldn't have but shh :')

There is quite a few more chapters though - at least 5 more... (sorry about that)

and I'm sorry that this has taken me a while to update (I think...?) but blame the band All Time Low for streaming their new album; it's all there fault.  
I also blame them for me falling behind in Business Studies and for my lack of sleep :')

Are any of you motherfudgers ATL fans? If so you'll understand :3

Anyway...I'm rambling, REVIEW! :D


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The minute George had apparated back to the Burrow he had fallen to the ground, his shirt now completely blood stained. The last thing he remembered before everything went dark was his mother practically running towards him with the most worried look on her face he had ever seen. She even looked more worried than the time in his 4th year when Ginny had been taken to the Chamber of Secrets; which seemed stupid. That was a far worse problem than him being cursed by a now dead Death Eater.

**George P.O.V**

I'm not even sure if I'm awake or asleep right now. It feels like a dream, but at the same time it doesn't feel anything like a dream, I guess it could just be reality…but I'm pretty sure this is a dream, due to the fact that I look about 15 years old and I'm standing in Ashley's bedroom. Merlin, I forgot that she had bright white walls, it's hurting my eyes just bloody staring at it, and the fact that there are vivid red Gryffindor banners all over the walls doesn't help either. Wait, why am I even here? Not that I can control my dreams of course, but this certainly seems like a weird place to come back too…hold on, what's that noise?  
_'George! Get out of my room!'_ her voice yelled _'I don't trust you in there!'_ apparently not much has changed in the last 5 years.  
_'I'm not doing anything!'_ my voice yells for me, I think I remember this actually – it was right before we were meant to start sixth year, I think this is when she was packing to come to the Burrow. Wait, wait, wait – surely if I can remember this it's not a dream? Is it a flashback?  
Can you even have flashbacks when you're awake? I've never really thought about it. But this definitely isn't a dream – it's too real.  
_'That's exactly what you always say!'_ her voice yells again, at least I was consistent in my lying.  
_'Well I'm not doing anything! I swear!'_ my voice says again. _As soon as I finish my sentence, Ash walks into the room, she looks me up and down, then frowns. Before I can say anything she looks into the trunk on her bed – searching through it, obviously finding nothing.  
'I don't believe you' she stated, then walked around her room, checking every single place to see if I'd hidden anything. After that she walked right up to me, then dug her hands in the front pockets on my jeans, looking for products most probably._ 15 year old me suddenly went a bright red colour...Noooooo, younger me. .even. ASHLEY IS 15 IN THIS DREAM. Think of Percy, think of Percy, think of Percy.  
_'Okay, for once you're actually telling the truth' she smirked  
'I tell the truth a lot of the time! You just never believe me when I do'  
'Because I'm never quite sure when you're lying about telling the truth or telling the truth about telling the truth' she said_, both 15 year old me and current me were confused at this point.  
_'What?'  
'Nevermind. Basically I'm never sure when you're lying or not – I still remember the first time I met you, and you said you were Fred.'  
'Well me and Fred always change that around' I smirked, 'Surely you've learnt?'  
'Of course I've learnt' she said, rolling her eyes at me before grinning.  
'Well, I promise that I've never ever lied to you.'  
'Pinky promise?' she asked, holding out her little finger  
'Really? Are you 5 years old?' I smirked  
'Do not insult the bond of the pinky!' she said, trying to stay straight faced before she burst out laughing. 'Just do it, okay?'  
'Peer pressure' I smirked, although I still hooked my little finger around hers  
'Thank you' she said 'Was that really that hard?'  
'I think my manliness decreased slightly, but other than that – no, it wasn't difficult'  
'Your manliness?' she scoffed 'I don't think I've ever seen you act manly' she smirked  
'I resent that!'  
'Oh yeah? Give me one time you've acted like a man' she said, smirking when I stayed silent  
'Well there was – erm … no, that was you. How about when - …Ginny'  
'Take your time' she smirked, sitting down on her bed with her legs crossed  
'I am manly!'  
'I'm yet to hear or see and example' she smirked  
'Well what would you define as being manly?' I asked, causing a thoughtful look to cross her face as she bit down on her lip  
'I'm not sure – I've always thought that being upfront with feelings is quite manly and brave and such.'  
'Feelings about?'  
'I don't know – anything, I guess. Like, when Fred told Angelina he liked her, in my opinion I think that was manly' she said, giving a light hearted shrug  
'I thought girls hated that stuff?'  
'You think that girls hate it when a guy proclaims his feelings towards a girl, showing her that he only really wants her and telling her what he likes about her? Do you not know girls, George?'  
'Well, I know you … you've never really mentioned anything about who you like' I muttered, causing her to turn a light pink colour  
'W-well I've never really mentioned it b-because you and Fred would p-probably tease me for it'  
'I wouldn't' I said, sitting down next to her 'Tell meeeee'  
'I can't!'  
'Why not?' I whined  
'Because – because I can't.' she said, lifting her head up and facing me  
'Give me a reason' I murmured, _SHIT. I REMEMBER THIS NOW.  
_'W-well' she blushed a deep red 'It's none of your business.'  
'I'm your best friend. It's all my business.'  
'Well – I, I just c-can't tell you'  
'Why not?!'  
'Because – erm, you're not manly enough to handle it' she smirked,  
'Well, how about I prove my manliness and then you tell me?'  
'I'm sure that'd be fine – but how will you-' this is it, right? This is when I have to kiss her and prove my "manliness" to her, considering she's a weirdo and won't tell me until I do. So, if I kiss her, then that's it. I've done it and then we'll just go forward from there – unless she doesn't like me and Fred was lying, would Fred lie about that stuff? Whatever, I just need to do it '-prove it?' Ashley finished, raising her eyebrows at me.  
'Well, I was thinking something along the lines of this' I said, leaning forwards and kissing her._

**Normal P.O.V**

George woke up suddenly. He sat straight upright in bed, looking confused for a few seconds before realising that what had just happened was, in fact, a dream. He then remembered what had happened before he had fainted at the door. He then had the realisation that Ashley was most probably dead, unless in some lucky turn of events she had lived. He quickly got out of bed, picked up a jumper off the floor and pulled it over his head, then pulled on a pair of trousers. He continued to run out of his room and down the stairs into the kitchen, coming face-to-face with a very angry looking Mrs Weasley.  
'George Weasley you idiotic boy!' she yelled, although he wasn't paying much attention at this point. He was already worrying about Ashley. 'You could have been killed! I told you NOT to go after her, and what do you do? Completely ignore me and go anyway! MUCH LIKE YOU ARE DOING NOW, GEORGE!' it was at this point he realised she was trying to talk to him.  
'Sorry, mum' he muttered, looking down at the ground. Mrs Weasley suddenly felt sympathetic towards one of her youngest sons.  
'It's alright, dear. I understand why you did it, even if I don't entirely approve of your actions'  
'Is she alright?' he asked 'Ashley?'  
'She's -' Mrs Weasley began  
'Merlin! She really is dead isn't she?!' George exclaimed,  
'George -'  
'What am I going to do!?'  
'GEORGE'  
'What?'  
'She's not dead!'  
'Really?!' he said, a grin spreading across his face  
'Really' Mrs Weasley confirmed, rolling her eyes slightly 'She isn't awake yet, still asleep in Percy's room, she might be awake soon though -' before she could finish her sentence, however, George had ran off towards Percy's old room, where Ashley was currently unconscious.  
He entered the room to see that Ashley was lying on the bed, looking very similar to how she did in the old house, completely pale and unmoving. He had a momentary lapse of panic before remembering what his mother had told him. She was completely fine, and that she was going to wake up soon, although this didn't seem to calm him down at all. He slowly walked over to where she was lying and sat on the edge of the bed. All of a sudden there were tears rolling down his face, he quickly wiped his eyes and told himself off internally for crying over this when he knew she was fine.  
'I'm sorry I didn't trust you, Ash' he said to the still figure, then took her hand in his 'I was a complete idiot and I regret it more than anything. If it wasn't for that, you'd probably still be here with me instead of wherever you are in your head right now. You have no idea how much I want you back here with me, you honestly don't. I love you, Ashley.' he added, then leaned down and pressed a light kiss against her lips, before standing up and walking out of the room.

**Ashley P.O.V**

This feels weird...I know I'm not dead, but I'm definitely not asleep or anything.  
What's the place between life and death called? Limbo?  
I'm probably wrong with that actually.  
Wait, I think Limbo's the place between Heaven and Hell...

Well I know what I mean.  
This is the point where I kinda wish I'd been Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor.  
I would have learnt so much more without knowing Fred and George.  
But then again, if I hadn't have known Fred and George then Hogwarts would have completely sucked, I probably would have ended up being friends with some stuck up Ravenclaws or something like that.  
Wait…what if I had never met Fred and George? I can't imagine them not being there.  
Well … I guess I can imagine Fred not being there – considering that's the situation right now, although I really wish it wasn't.  
He was in my life for practically 15 years. Now he's just gone and it doesn't make any sense to me at all, how can someone be here one second, then gone the next? That's the part that always confused me about death. How quick it was. How you could be here and living one second; then the next you could be nothing. Gone.  
I wonder if I'm gone yet. Maybe it would be better if I was, being gone would be easier than being alive. It's too difficult dealing with the being alive shit, everything just fucks up eventually and you can't fix it. Besides, what am I actually living for anyway? My parents don't even bother with me anymore, neither does anyone else. The only people who I think ever really gave a shit were Fred and George, but now one of them's gone and the other one hates me.  
I guess I wish I could talk to someone about the fact that Fred's gone; but the only person I would want to talk to it about would be George. And I definitely can't talk to him about Fred, I'm supposed to be the one acting all strong and making sure he's okay, not the other way around.  
Wait … is that what I'm living for? George? I mean, there has to be some reason as to why I haven't just completely given up yet – and George seems like the most logical reason. His two best friends can't both leave him within the space of a few months.

* * *

SO. Here you go. 'Nother chapter.  
Thanks for all the reviews so far, feel free to review more though ;)  
Sorry if I'm dragging this out - but I want to make sure that there's like, proper closure on it. Hence why there's currently about 10 more chapters (I apologise)  
So...that is all I have to say on this.  
PEACE OUT.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Not much happened at the Burrow after George had woken up a few days prior to the current moment. Mainly everything seemed to be exactly the same as it had been before he'd even left – the only slight difference being that Hermione would occasionally moan at Ron for something, usually something idiotic or something about him being ignorant, although this wasn't much similar to the normal situation. But other than that, it was the completely and utterly the same. George had begun to worry about Ashley again, even though it had only been 3 days at the most since he himself had woken up.  
He probably shouldn't have been worrying as much as he was - considering Ashley had been through a lot more that he had, including extensive use of Crucio, whereas George had only had that used against him once and had then had Sectumsempra cast at him a separate time, which was what had led to him currently having a large bandage placed in a diagonal line from his shoulder to the bottom of his stomach – even though his mother had healed it as best as possible, apparently he still needed a bandage over it, which didn't make much sense to him at all, but he figured it best not to argue with his mother when she was still slightly annoyed with him for leaving the house and going to find Ashley anyway. But what else did she expect him to do? Sit at home and wait for someone else to find her? That's not the type of thing George would do. Ever. He looked down at the bandage, poking at it and then wincing at the sharp, shooting pain that went through his chest.  
'George, stop poking the bandage' Harry said, not looking up from where he was sitting with Teddy, reading him a story from "The Tales Of Beedle The Bard" - most probably the tale of the three brothers, Harry, Hermione and Ron seemed to prefer that one more than the other tales, for reasons unbeknownst to all other members of the family.  
'It's just really really tempting' George joked, to which Harry laughed slightly and shook his head, a few seconds later Ginny walked in, then immediately walked over to Harry, causing Teddy to look from the book and up at Ginny, giving her gappy smile.  
'Harry! We need to go! We're already late!'  
'We're not late, love' Harry said 'It's only just turned 7'  
'and we were supposed to be there for 7!' she argued  
'No, we're supposed to be there for 7:30' Harry said, causing Ginny to remain quiet for a moment,  
'…shut up' she said, then stalked out again.  
'Where you goin'?' George asked, causing Teddy's head to swivel around to see where the new noise had come from  
'Honestly? I have absolutely no bloody idea. I just know we're meeting Neville, Luna, Seamus and Dean somewhere, but I didn't even know that until today.'  
'Who's looking after Teddy then?'  
'Ron, apparently' Harry said, before looking around 'Think he escaped though, he never actually agreed to it, Ginny just kinda forced him … I reckon he's gone out somewhere with Hermione' he smiled  
'Why am I not surprised?' George smirked 'Though if Ron doesn't show I'll look after him, I could use the company. Even if it is from a one year old who isn't able to speak or walk'  
'An awesome one year old' Harry corrected, smiling 'And he can talk, it just so happens that he talks incoherent babble'  
'He's allowed I guess' George smiled 'I forgot how easy being one was. That kid doesn't have to worry about anything, other than learning to talk'  
'I know' Harry said, 'I think Ginny's starting to think he's never going to talk, but I'm sure he will. And I have absolutely no doubt that his first words to her will be "shut up"'  
'Ah, most probably … think those might have been my first words to Perce, actually' George smiled, as his little sister walked back into the room  
'What were you two talking about?' she asked, smirking slightly  
'Nothing much' George shrugged  
'Just about George watching Teddy if Ron doesn't show up'  
'Well, at this point it looks like he isn't' Ginny said 'Honestly, he is such an unreliable git'  
'Surely you figured that out a while ago?' George asked  
'Well … yes' Ginny said, smiling 'Anyway, Harry, we need to go!' Ginny said  
'But - ' Harry began to argue, but was cut off by Ginny glaring 'Fine, we'll go' he sighed in defeat  
'Whipped much?' George whispered to Harry as he walked past, earning him a glare. Ginny took Teddy off Harry and handed him to George, causing Harry to look confusedly at Ginny  
'You know I could have handed the baby over, right?'  
'Well too late now' Ginny said, then turned to face George 'Right – don't do anything stupid, would you? I don't want to come back to half the house blown up or Teddy with a black eye, extra limbs, less limbs or anything else, right?'  
'So much faith' George smirked 'You realise I have looked after children before? I'm not a complete moron'  
'I'll believe that when I see it' Ginny smirked 'Anyway, we're going – see you later'  
'Alright – see you' George replied, then waited until Ginny and Harry were gone before walking over to the sofa and sitting down on it, Teddy sitting up right on his knee  
'So … what do I do with you for the next few hours' George said, causing random noises that were supposed to be words come out of Teddy's mouth 'Great plan' he said sarcastically, making Teddy giggle.

-oOo-

'Well … look at that' Ginny said when she walked into the Burrow a few hours later  
'Why am I not surprised?' Harry said, looking down at an asleep George holding an equally asleep Teddy, 'What should we do? We can't leave them here'  
'We can leave George' Ginny smiled, 'You can just pick up Teddy?'  
'Oh, can I?' Harry said,  
'Yes, you can' she smiled, to which Harry shook his head whilst smiling, but still picked up Teddy all the same.  
'I still can't believe we're just going to leave him here'  
'Well, it won't make any difference. Mum and Dad are probably asleep, Ron and Hermione are somewhere, We're both here, Charlie's asleep and that's it … unless Ashley wakes up; but even if she does I doubt he'd be bothered about her finding him on the sofa – he'd probably pull her on top of him' she smirked  
'I'd argue, but I have a feeling you're right there' Harry replied, smiling  
'Well I'm always right, aren't I? So there'd be no point in arguing' she grinned  
'Sure you are, Ginny, sure you are' Harry said, before Ginny grabbed his free hand and the two of them walked upstairs.

-oOo-

'Shit' George muttered when he had woken up, rubbing his eyes as he realised he was sitting on the sofa, 'What the fuck? Why am I down here?' he muttered to himself, before remembering Teddy. He then noticed that Teddy was gone. 'Please say Harry and Ginny got him' he murmured  
'Yes, we did' Ginny said loudly, before popping up from behind he sofa  
'SHIT' George yelled, jumping up from the sofa in surprise 'Don't do that, Gin!'  
'Sorry, George … but you should be expecting it really, you and Fr-' she then stopped in the middle of the sentence, blinking hard before continuing 'You and Ashley used to do it to me and Ron all the time' she said, trying to smile  
'Yeah' George said, ignoring her mistake the first time, he then walked over to her and hugged her  
'So, how're you and Harry doing?'  
'Pretty good, it is quite difficult with a bloody baby.'  
'Obviously' George laughed 'You two have only been together properly for a few months and you have to look after a baby, it's not going to be easy, I'm not even sure I could do it now and I'm 20'  
'Please, if Ashley was pregnant right now I'm sure you'd be fine'  
'Not really. We're not exactly together'  
'Please! If you two aren't together by next month I will give you 10 galleons!'  
'Deal' George said, solemnly  
'Why don't you think you'll end up together?'  
'Because we're obviously not meant to. If we were, then we'd be together. There'd be no pretty boy trying to steal her, no weird guy kidnapping her, no arguments...it just wouldn't be like this'  
'You can't exactly compare yourself to Cedric' Ginny began 'You mean way more to her than he does, you always have, obviously … or she would have gone out with him instead of you. And the 'weird kidnapper' was a Death Eater, they're not exactly normal anyway, they just want to kill people all the time, and they were Voldemort's followers, they don't really plan to break up people's relationships. AND Arguments happen between couples practically all the time, if they didn't then it wouldn't be a proper relationship, you need to argue sometimes. Just give it time, George, I'm sure you'll be together in no time.'  
'Yeah, sure' George muttered  
'If I ended up with 'the boy who lived' I'm almost positive you can end up with the girl who's been your best friend for 15 years – you're closer to her than anyone'  
'Exactly, best friend. I'm in the friend zone'  
'You're not in the freaking friend zone, you've **never **been in the friend zone, George'  
'How am I not?! She's never-'  
'Did she ever snog Fred when we were at Hogwarts? Or did she ever snog Fred outside of Hogwarts, for that matter?'  
'Well … no, but-'  
'And when she slept over, did she ever say she wanted to sleep in Fred's bed, or did she just get into your bed?'  
'Well, technically she always got in my-'  
'Did she ever 'accidentally' hold your hand when she was scared?'  
'...a few tim-'  
'And has she ever mentioned to you anything about wanting Fred, Harry, Ron, Oliver, Cedric or anyone else?'  
'Well there was once she mentioned Ced-'  
'And how long ago did she fancy him?'  
'Erm...second y-'  
'So she was 12.' Ginny said, raising her eyebrows 'You can't really count that. So, to sum up – she's snogged you, slept in your bed, she's tried to hold your hand before and she's never mentioned any other guy when she was with you? And you still think you're in the friend zone?'  
'Well -'  
'Fred was in the friend zone, Harry and Ron are in the friend zone, Oliver is in the friend zone, Cedric is in the friend zone. George, pretty much everyone she's ever met is in the friend zone. You are not in the friend zone, girls don't snog the friend zone guy, they cry to the friend zone guy when their boyfriend breaks up with them.'  
'But-'  
'George!' Ginny said loudly 'Listen to me! You are not in the friend zone! She loves you, you moron! She doesn't love Cedric or anyone else, .you.'  
'Whatever' George muttered, then walked away.  
'Arse' Ginny said after him, making him chuckle slightly.

* * *

So I guess this is kind of a filler chapter. Cause why not? :D

Erm...I don't have much else to say, but thanks for all the reviews, dudes, it means a lot to know people actually like my writing :3


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

'What the hell' Ashley groaned as she sat up, she felt as if she'd be thrown down a hill and broken every single bone in her body. On opening her eyes everything surrounding her suddenly became blurry and fuzzy, she rubbed at her eyes, which somewhat helped, considering now it was only the edges of her vision that was blurred. Flashbacks of what had happened suddenly began to play in her mind, she then began to wonder about how exactly she had ended up back at the Burrow, as she didn't remember anyone else being there – unless they were very good at hiding. She slowly rolled out of the bed and onto her feet, then saw that someone had changed her clothes, she figured it was probably Ginny, Hermione or Mrs Weasley … or at least she hoped it was either Ginny, Hermione or Mrs Weasley. She wandered over to the chair in the corner of the room and saw that a pair of skinny jeans, a tshirt and a jacket had been laid out across it, she internally thanked Ginny and pulled the clothes on. After she was dressed she slowly walked out of the room and padded down the corridor, then walked down the stairs – feeling slightly happy that everyone seemed to be out, they were all quite a lot to deal with at one point in time. She began to make her way into the kitchen (half expecting Ginny to leap out at her at some point), walking into the kitchen she saw the familiar face of Ron Weasley, who currently had his back to her  
'Ronniekins!' she yelled, causing him to jump and turn to face her  
'Ashley! You're awake!' he exclaimed, as she ran over to him and hugged him  
'I am indeed'  
'Welcome back' he muttered into her ear  
'Thanks. So how's everyone been?' She asked, pulling out of the hug  
'They've been alright, George hasn't been so good though'  
'Why not?'  
'Well, when he got back from your hous-'  
'He's the one that came to get me?' Ashley asked, her voice quiet  
'Yeah' Ron said 'Well, he went to your old house, Bill came and told us where the address was, then Harry went a few minutes after to make sure everything was alright, then Harry was back a few minutes later with you and said that George had told him to bring you back because you were dead'  
'He thought I was dead?' Ashley asked softly  
'Apparently. Then after that he was gone for about a half hour, came back with a massive cut across his chest, then he fainted'  
'Wow' Ashley said 'He really came after me…'  
'Yeah, he was trying to figure out how to get to the house for ages, eventually he went to Bill.'  
'Wow … where is he now?'  
'No idea, I think he went out somewhere'  
'Oh, alright … Well I'm gonna go down to the Orchard or something, come get me when he comes back?'  
'Alright, Ash' Ron said.  
'Thanks' she smiled, then turned and walked out of the kitchen, stopping by the back door to pull her shoes on, before sliding the door open and slipping out. She made her way out the back yard and into the field around the Burrow. She slowly began to wander towards the Orchard, then started to think about whether Fred would still be there or whether he would have gone. She sped up walk slightly at the thought of talking to Fred about the situation (considering she had no idea what to do), then froze as she saw a familiar red head sitting down on the ground, looking away from her with his back leaning against the tree trunk.

-oOo-

'Ron! RON!' Ginny yelled, walking into the kitchen 'Ashley's gone!'  
'Yeah, I know' he began 'She woke up earlier, then said she was going to find George'  
'Oh. I wanted to talk to her!'  
'Well, I got to' Ron smiled,  
'Git' Ginny said 'Honestly, I try to be good and buy Teddy some new stuff and end up missing one of my best friends waking up'  
'Well, it was a stupid decision to go out then, wasn't it?' Ron said, smirking  
'Shut up' Ginny said 'I'm sure mum won't be impressed with you letting Ashley go outside considering she's only just woke up'  
'… yeah … don't tell mum'  
'Well, that all depends, big brother' Ginny smirked 'What are you willing to pay?'  
'I'm not giving you money!'  
'Well then mums going to find out'  
'if it wasn't for me then you wouldn't have met Harry!'  
'if it wasn't for Fred, George and Ashley YOU wouldn't have met Harry' Ginny said, referring to the fact that Fred, George and Ashley had set it up so that Ron would have to share a compartment with Harry on the train in his first year, probably one of the better decisions they made.  
'… yeah, well … that's not the point …'  
'Pay up'  
'Fine' Ron sighed, handing her a few galleons  
'That all?'  
'That's all I've got on me!'  
'Bloody hell' Ginny smiled, before turning to walk out 'Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure mum already knows.'  
'You should have been in Slytherin' Ron groaned  
'I'm not sure yet, I think she might tho-'  
'RONALD WEASLEY' a woman's voice yelled 'HOW DARE YOU LET HER LEAVE!'  
'Bollocks' Ron murmured, whilst Ginny grinned  
'What were you thinking?!' she yelled, walking into the kitchen 'She has ONLY just woken up and you let her go!'  
'She went for George!' he said, trying to sound convincing  
'Oh … well you still shouldn't have let her go!'  
'I can't exactly stop her! She's older than me!'  
'Oooh honestly, Ronald'  
'It's not like anythings going to happen to her! He's dead now anyway!' Ron said, causing Mrs Weasley to give him a look. He then slid out of the kitchen and into the main room, where Hermione was sitting reading a book with her legs tucked up by her side.  
'What happened?' Hermione asked, looking up from the book  
'Ashley woke up earlier, I spoke to her and she said she was going down to the Orchard, but now mum's annoyed I let her go' he replied, throwing himself down next to her  
'Didn't George go to the orchard?' Hermione asked, frowning  
'Yeah' Ron smirked  
'And now Ashley's going down there as well?'  
'Yepp'  
'That's probably one of your smartest ideas yet' Hermione smiled  
'Hey!'  
'I'm joking, Ron.' she smiled, leaning over and kissing his cheek.

* * *

So, here you go. :L Obviously it's not done yet, I think there should be...5-ish more chapters, but the last 2/3 are more like...erm, closing one's? I think that makes sense.  
Anyway, review please and thanks for reading :3


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Ashley stood in the Orchard for a few seconds, simply staring at the boy leaning against the tree. He looked completely lost in something, though she wasn't even sure what. It also seemed to appear as if he was talking - but again, she couldn't have had a clue as to what about. She was about to turn around and walk back, before he turned towards her, he looked at her in (what seemed like) shock for a few seconds, before obviously coming to the conclusion that she was in fact there and not a figment of his imagination, as he stood up and awkwardly shifted between his feet - shoving his hands in hands in his pockets whilst doing so.  
'Erm - how come you're here?' Ashley asked, her voice just loud enough for him to hear  
'I could ask you the same thing, really, couldn't I?' he asked, taking a hand out of his pocket and running his fingers through his hair - before immediately shoving his hand back in his jeans pocket. She looked down at the ground, before slowly taking a few steps back, as if to leave 'Sorry ...' he muttered, causing her to stop and look up at him - a confused look on her face 'I guess I just wanted to see if he was actually here – at least I think that's why I'm here' George replied, then looked at her for a second, before she even realised it she had begun running towards him and had crashed against his chest, he took his hands from his pockets and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer into him, 'I thought I'd lost you' he said, hugging her tighter,  
'You haven't' Ashley murmured  
'I'm glad' he started, 'I love you … I know you probably don't want to be with me anymore, or have anything to do with me because of what I did to Diggory, but I needed to tell you that I love you'  
'Georgie, I love you too. I still want to be with you, I didn't ever not want too …'  
'So you wouldn't be pissed off if I kissed you right now?'  
'Definitely not' Ashley smiled, before George leaned down and kissed her. Once he pulled away he sat down on the ground again, pulling her down with him so that she was sitting between his legs, facing the same way he was. He wrapped his arms around her waist, causing her to lean her head back against his chest.  
'Listen, there's something I need to ask you, but you don't have to say yes'  
'Go on' Ashley said, slightly wary  
'Well, Lee's getting pretty fed up of running the shop by himself and if I stay here any longer I might kill someone, so I need to go back soon to shop … which means that I'll be moving back into the flat above, right?'  
'… Right'  
'So I was wondering if, well erm, if you'd want to move in with me?'  
'Maybe … but we do argue a lot, George …'  
'So what? All couples argue a lot' he said, internally thanking Ginny for the words of wisdom - though he would never thank her to her face.  
'I suppose' Ashley said, then frowned in thought  
'So … will you move in with me?' George asked, looking down at her  
'Of course' Ashley smiled, then tilted her head backwards, George closed the gap between them and kissed her  
'I love you'  
'I love you too'

-oOo-

After a few hours George stood up, then pulled Ashley up of the ground, losing his balance slightly and falling over, making Ashley burst into a fit of laughter, before holding out her hands to help him up  
'You have amazing balance, Weasley'  
'I know! It's brilliant, isn't it?' he said, interlocking her fingers with his  
'The best I've ever seen, remind me, how exactly were you a beater again?' she smirked  
'My balance is much better on a broom' he said, giving her the trademark smirk she had seen many times before - but it hadn't appeared on him since Fred had died. The two then slowly began the short walk back up towards the Burrow. On entering into the door, Ashley was immediately attack hugged by none other than Ginny.  
'ASH!' she yelled  
'GIN!' Ashley laughed, when Ginny pulled away she looked down at her hand, seeing it was in George's  
'OH MY GOD! YOU TWO!' she smiled, pulling Ashley into a hug again, then turning to George 'I believe you owe me 10 galleons?'  
'What?' Ashley frowned  
'Just a little bet me and my dear brother had' Ginny smiled, before walking off  
'I'll tell you later' George muttered into her ear, to which Ashley simply nodded  
'Hey, Ash' Harry said, before hugging her, 'I'm happy for you two - and I'll try to keep Ginny at bay' he whispered into her ear, causing Ashley to smile, Harry then walked over to Ginny, who looked as if she was asking him what he had said - to which he simply smiled and shook his head. The pattern of hugging continued liked this until everyone had hugged Ashley at least once, before George spoke up  
'Right, as much as I know you all love her, I want her to myself'  
'You've been with her since she woke up!' Ron argued  
'SHH RONNIEKINS' George yelled, before placing his hands on her shoulders and steering her into his room  
'That could have been construed in many different ways' Ashley said, as George pushed her down onto his bed  
'Just shut up' he growled, before leaning down and kissing her forcefully  
'Someone's in a hurry' Ashley laughed as George went from kissing her lips to her neck  
'I thought you were gone' he said, lifting his face up to where hers was  
'I'm not' Ashley said  
'I know … but I'm still not going to miss the opportunity' he winked.

* * *

Okay, so I was going to upload this this morning, but I got sidetracked by Twitter drama - I know, shame on me, right? NO. Shame on f****** Directioners for telling my favourite singer to kill himself for having opinions.  
Sigh.  
At least Alex was being mature. (never thought I'd say that about Gaskarth.)

Yet another reason for him being one of my biggest inspirations.

Anyway, sorry for my (minor) rant, but please review :3


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

'Morning' George said, kissing the top of Ashley's head  
'Morning' she murmured back, then pushed herself up onto her forearms, leaning over George's chest. She rubbed her eyes, before glancing over George, letting her eyes rest on his chest - she took to staring at the fading scar that was running from his left shoulder to the bottom of his stomach, tracing it lightly with one of her fingers before frowning slightly, gaining the attention of George.  
'What's wrong?' he asked,  
'You shouldn't have this' she said, gesturing towards the scar  
'Why not?'  
'Because, you don't need to have it, you should have just got someone else to come and g-'  
'I wouldn't want to do that' George interrupted, taking her hands 'I love you, I wanted to be the one that got you back and killed that irritating dick, so I knew he was definitely gone'  
'But-'  
'I don't care about the scar, considering this' George said, pointing to where his ear had previously been  
'Which was my fault as w-'  
'It wasn't your fault'  
'I do wish you'd stop interrupting me' she smiled  
'I'll interrupt you when you're wrong' George said, sounding the most serious he had since they had broken up.  
'But-' Ashley began, but was interrupted by George kissing her 'You can't do that!'  
'Do what?' he smiled  
'Kiss me when you want to shut me up!'  
'I have no idea what you're talking about' he joked  
'George! No kissing me to make me shut-' she was cut off again 'George!' she groaned  
'It's working isn't it?' he smirked,  
'Well-'  
'Exactly'  
'Stop interrupting me!' she whined  
'But your face is really cute when you're annoyed' he smiled, Ashley glared at him before her face broke into a smile  
'Git' she said quietly  
'What was that?'  
'I said that you ar-' she began, before George kissed her again  
'UGH! YOU, GEORGE WEASLEY, ARE THE MOST ANNOYING PERSON IN THE WOR-' she began to shout, before George kissed her again. Ashley glared at him, then made a move to stand up before George pulled her back down towards him  
'You know you love me' he smirked, then kissed her again  
'For now' Ashley teased, then stood up 'Keep going like this and I won't love you for much longer' she joked, before noticing that George suddenly looked panicked 'George, I'm joking!' she said, then quickly got back in the bed and lay next to him, he wrapped his arms around her  
'I knew you were joking, I just wanted you back here' he whispered in her ear  
'Arse' she smiled. They stayed in silence for a while, before the silence was broken  
'I've been thinking …' George began  
'You can think?!' Ashley laughed, causing George to roll his eyes 'I'm sorry, about what?' she smiled  
'Well … about having a funeral … for Fred'  
'Would you be okay with that?' Ashley asked  
'I think so … maybe'  
'You kinda need to figure that out first, Georgie.'  
'I know' he sighed 'But I feel like I need to say goodbye properly, if that makes sense?'  
'Well, if you want we could go to the Orchard like I said a while ago …?'  
'Maybe' George said, then kissed the top of her head  
'But I think the funeral would be a good idea, you just have to be ready for it first'  
'I know'  
'I'm sure no one would object to the idea either'  
'I did actually speak to mum about it a while ago'  
'What did she say?'  
'That it was a good idea, but she didn't think anyone was really ready for it yet'  
'Your mother has a good point … as usual'  
'As usual' George smiled.

-oOo-

Later that day Ashley was slowly making her way down to the Orchard. She hadn't told George that she was going out, for one he would have wanted to know where, and she didn't think it best to tell him that, and for two he was currently still asleep and probably wouldn't even notice she was gone - not to mention she didn't want to risk waking him up, she'd learnt from experience that waking up a Weasley was never a good idea. Eventually she reached the Orchard, and slumped down against a tree, where she waited for him to show. At this point she already knew he was going to; at least she hoped.  
'Why hello there' Fred winked, appearing in front of her and confirming her thoughts of him showing up 'Have fun last night?'  
'Get lost' Ashley smiled, attempting to cover her now bright red face with her hands  
'The fact that you've turned to the colour of a tomato has answered that question for me' he smirked, whilst she continued to blush furiously.  
'So I'm guessing you saw what happened yesterday?' she asked, already knowing the answer  
'Down here? Yeah course I did, I also heard what he was saying before you showed up, too'  
'What did he say before?' Ashley frowned  
'Oh, it wasn't really anything of major importance. Apparently you told him that I was here, so he thought that he'd come and see if he could speak to me himself… he also told me a lot about what's happened the last few weeks'  
'What did he say?' she asked quietly  
'He was talking about you and Diggory for a while and how he beat the shit out of him' Fred laughed, 'Though the cut on his lip and bruise on his eye said otherwise'  
'Yes' Ashley groaned 'Bloody moron'  
'You can't really blame him, Ash'  
'What do you mean?'  
'Well, he's in love with you, then when he finally got to be with you some git came along and said he fancied you, and for some reason George had gotten it into his head that you fancied Diggory'  
'Even though I told him I didn't. About 50,000 times.'  
'Well, my brother is an idiot, you've said it yourself many times' Fred smiled  
'That I have' she laughed  
'He also told me how much he loves you' Fred said, actually sounding serious  
'What did he say about that?'  
'Well, he should probably tell you himself, but I will just say that it's a lot more than I originally thought he did'  
'Really?'  
'Really. He'd die for you, Ash … if he hasn't already proved that'  
'He's definitely proved that' Ashley said  
'And he asked you to move in with him' Fred grinned  
'Yes he did' Ashley smiled  
'If I was still alive then Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione would currently owe me a LOT of Galleons'  
'What do you mean?'  
'Well, at Bill and Fleur's wedding we kind of made a bet about how long it would be before you two got together'  
'Who said what?'  
'Harry thought Valentines, Ron thought New Year and I said Christmas. Then Ginny and Granger didn't actually say a date, just that they thought it would be a while'  
'So … how exactly would they owe you money?'  
'Well … Christmas is closer to now than Valentines Day and New Year'  
'That is completely messed up logic' Ashley smiled 'Although slightly true, but then I guess it would be, considering the twin thing'  
'How do you mean?'  
'Well, the whole twin thing. You two are the closest twin brothers I've ever met, I mean, you were so close all the time, brothers and best friends - that doesn't happen very often. Both of you seemed to know when something would happen to the other'  
'I guess you're right' Fred said,  
'Of course I am, I always am.' she grinned  
'So, how come you're not with my brother now?'  
'Well, he is currently lying in bed shirtless and asleep'  
'That sentence contained far too much information on my brothers clothing situation … or lack of, in this case'  
'You asked' Ashley smiled  
'I did, regrettably'  
'I should probably go soon, actually. I need to be back before he wakes up'  
'Why's that?'  
'Technically, he doesn't know I'm gone'  
'How rebellious, Redford' Fred grinned 'Me and my brother seemed to have rubbed off on you', Ashley rolled her eyes 'My brothers probably rubbed off on you more, though'  
'Fred that is disgusting' she said, whilst laughing  
'I meant because you hung around with him more! Obviously, his rebellious streak kind of, erm - transferred to you' he said, giving her the most sincere look he could  
'Yeah, yeah - sure that's what you meant, but I'll play towards that - how dare the two of you lead me off the right path' she laughed  
'Like you were ever on the right path' Fred smiled  
'Oi! Rude!'  
'It's true!'  
'Possibly …'  
'You know it is' he winked, 'Anyway, you know how you said me and George have the whole twin connection thing?'  
'Yeah?'  
'You might want to go back to the house, my "twin powers" are telling me that he's going to be up soon' he smirked  
'I have no idea whether to believe you or not, because you are most probably taking the piss, but I'll go back anyway'  
'I'm offended' Fred smiled  
'You've said worse to me over the years' she smirked  
'Hm...suppose you've got a point there, really. But I'm allowed.'  
'What exactly is the logic behind that, Fred?!'  
'Well … erm …' he said, then bit his lip 'No idea.'  
'Muppet'  
'Love you too!'  
'Sorry, I prefer your twin' she grinned  
'No need to lie, Redford. George isn't here now, feel free to proclaim your undying love for me'  
'Oh how did you know?! I'll love you forever and ever, Freddiekins!' she said, a smirk breaking onto her face as soon as she had finished the sentence.  
'Knew it' Fred winked 'Anyway, like I was saying; George is probably going to wake up soon, so you may want to bugger off.'  
'Lovely.'  
'I know I am' Fred smirked, as Ashley stood up 'Love you, Redford'  
'Love you too, Weasley' she grinned, then began to walk away. She made the short walk back to the Burrow, then snuck along the corridor (being careful not to step on the places in the hallway where she knew that the floor would creak - which proved to be more difficult than originally thought), opened the door to George's room a fraction then slid through the gap. She walked in the room and saw George sprawled out exactly the same way he was when she had left; face-down, wearing only his boxers with half of his body out of the bed covers and the other half under them – she was actually amazed at the fact that he still managed to fit all his body on the bed even though he was around 6'1, she was shorter than him but she could hardly manage to make sure her feet didn't dangle off the end of the bed … although whenever she was sleeping with George she had an even harder time making sure she fit - he took up quite a lot of space. She smiled to herself, then took off her jeans and shirt and instead replaced them with one of George's t-shirts (which was far too big for her), then crawled back into the bed, pulling the covers over both of them as she did so. She felt George wrap his arms around her waist and pull her into his chest, then kiss her lightly on the forehead.

* * *

oooooookay, another chapter.  
4 left...

Okay, this is off the topic of HP (then again, so was this part of the last chapter)  
_R.I.P Mitch Lucker. Gone WAY too soon :( 3_  
Excuse me whilst I curl up into a ball and cry my eyes out, okay.

Anyway, back on point, please review? It'd REALLY make my freaking day. Cause so far, November's sucked ass.


	30. Chapter 30

Okay, so I'm pretty much skipping to the funeral part because I can't think of anything else to put in up until this point. It's about 2 months after the last chapter, so August time. (if that even matters)

Chapter 30

Ashley stood in the bathroom in the flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, she was in front of the mirror and was aiming to try and make her hair straight without the use of magic, before deciding that it would be far easier to just use magic. After she had done this, she walked out into the corridor and into the room she and George shared,  
'Georgie … are you alright?' Ashley asked,  
'Yeah, I'm fine' he replied, his voice shaking slightly. He then turned back towards the mirror and tried to fasten his tie, failing miserably.  
'Let me do it' Ashley said, walking over to him and tying it for him.  
'Thanks' he murmured, then ran his fingers through his hair  
'I'm amazed you still haven't learnt to tie it' she smiled slightly  
'Oh, I know' George said, trying to smile  
'You'll be fine' Ashley said, sensing his nervousness  
'I know, it's just … you know'  
'Yeah' Ashley said, before standing on her tiptoes and kissing him, 'You'll do great, just stop panicking'  
'I just have this feeling that I'm going to like … break down'  
'You won't.' Ashley said, fixing his hair with one of her hands  
'Merlin, first off I can't fasten my tie now I can't do my hair right' he laughed  
'I think you'll be pleased to know that most of the male population can't do that' Ashley smiled  
'That's reassuring' he said, to which Ashley smiled in response.  
'You sure you're okay?' she asked, 'Cause if you're not then -'  
'I'm okay.'  
'Somehow I don't believe you' she smiled,  
'Well, you never do'  
'I do sometimes'  
'Usually it's rare you believe me'  
'I think considering the current situation I'm just automatically allowed to not believe you when you say that you're okay'  
'I suppose' George said quietly.  
'You swear that you're okay? You're not lying?' she asked  
'Ash. I swear on my life that I'm fine, I can deal with this.'  
'Are you sure? I don't want you to fe-'  
'Ashley' George said, smiling down at her 'Just accept the fact that I'm fine. Because the fact that you're not is starting to make me think you're not okay.'  
'I'm fine' she said 'I'm just worried about you'  
'You don't have any need to be worried about me' George said 'I'm a grown up, I can look after myself' he smirked  
'Yeah, you're not a grown up until you can tie your own tie, Georgie' she grinned, then turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

-oOo-

'George, dear, how are you?' Mrs Weasley asked as soon as he and Ashley entered the kitchen  
'I'm fine, mum' he said, then smiled reassuringly before hugging Mrs Weasley,  
'What about you, Ashley?'  
'I'm good, Mrs Weasley' she smiled, before hugging her herself.  
'Please dear, call me Molly … although you may as well call me mum' she smiled, before glancing at George, who had suddenly blushed slightly  
'Okay time to go outside' George said quickly, steering Ashley out of the kitchen  
'Commitment issues much?' Ashley laughed  
'Not at all' George said to himself,  
'What did you say? I didn't hear you' Ashley said  
'I didn't say anything' George said, shrugging lightly  
'Mhmm …'  
'What?'  
'Nothing' she smiled, before wandering off towards the others, slowly followed by George.

-oOo-

The funeral service was quite long, which was understandable considering all the Weasley's were speaking, then there was also Ashley, Harry and Lee who had to speak as well … Angelina even made a few comments, though left as soon as she had finished. A few people cried during some of the speeches, one of them being George's … almost everyone cried during that, even George. However the mood seemed to balance out, as people laughed at Lee's and Ashley's, who tried as hard as possible to make it slightly funny, which is probably what Fred would have wanted. After everything had been said, people began to talk among themselves, Ashley walked over to talk to Ginny whilst George went to talk to Lee. A few hours later Ashley saw that George was now sitting down on a chair with a bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand, taking a drink every few seconds.  
'George…' Ashley said, walking over  
'Yeah?' George asked, he turned to face her and noticed the expression on her face, he then pulled her down on his knee 'What's wrong, love?'  
'He's gone, from the Orchard I mean, I felt him go a while ago, I just didn't want to say..' she said, biting her lip to stop herself crying, he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and she buried her head in his chest. A few seconds later he noticed that his shirt was now damp in the part where Ashley's eyes were,  
'Don't cry' he said, 'It'll be alright'  
'I'm pretty sure this is supposed to be the other way around' Ashley laughed, before lifting her head up slightly in order to stare at him and sniffing  
'It was a few months ago, I'm returning the favour' he said, wiping her eyes  
'Thank you' she murmured 'I don't know why I'm like this, I knew it would happen at some point'  
'You knew it was going to happen, doesn't mean you were expecting it.'  
'I should have been expecting it though … considering this is the most obvious time'  
'Oh just shut up and accept my words' he smiled, before kissing the top of her head  
'Fine' she moaned, then frowned 'You smell weird'  
'What a lovely girlfriend you are'  
'It's good weird! It smells like minty, vanilla, whiskey-y type stuff'  
'Minty … vanilla … whiskey-y?' George asked, resisting the urge to laugh  
'I have drank quite a lot' Ashley admitted  
'I didn't notice' George smiled, then leaned forwards and kissed her, 'How much exactly? I don't want you throwing up on me … or in my mouth, for that matter'  
'I have no idea, but I won't throw up in your mouth' Ashley said, grinning 'I think the proper question is how much have YOU drank?'  
'A lot less than you,'  
'Shut up' Ashley said, before resting her head on his chest again 'I'm allowed'  
'Of course you are' he smiled, resting his head on top of hers 'I love you'  
'I love you too' she murmured, before falling asleep on his chest

* * *

Okay, so here you go :3

2 Chapters left, but there's another chapter after that that I may or may not be posting.  
now I have to go back to the awkward conversation with my ex's new person. Should be fun...especially since they hate me.

Anyway, I won't moan anymore, please review :3


	31. Chapter 31

And I'm skipping forwards some more because I was in a Christmas mood when I wrote this because, well, it's nearly Christmas! :3  
Can you sense my excitement?  
Anyway; here :3

* * *

Chapter 31

_**Christmas  
**_

'Ash, Ash, Ash, Ash, Ash' George said poking Ashley's face every time he said her name in order to wake her up 'Ashleeeeeeeeeeey'  
'What' Ashley replied, not opening her eyes  
'You need to get out of bed'  
'And why is that exactly?'  
'Because it's Christmas'  
'Aren't you supposed to be an adult?' she smiled 'You sound like a child'  
'Well, yes. But everyone loves Christmas'  
'Yes, they do, at normal times'  
'It is normal time!'  
'Oh really? What time is it?'

'George.'  
'It's 6 …'  
'Exactly, so let me go back to sleep' she said, before rolling over and burying her head in the pillow. A few seconds later she felt herself being turned back over 'What now?' she moaned, opening one of her eyes lazily  
'Merry Christmas, love' George smiled, then leant his head down and kissed her  
'Merry Christmas to you too … but don't wake me up at 6 in the morning ever again if you want to keep that' she said, then pointed towards an area in the bottom half of his body  
'Well I really want me to keep that, and you _really_ want me to keep that, so I'm not that worried' he winked, Ashley blushed a light pink colour then turned back over and buried her face int the pillow again  
'And where are you going?' he asked, turning her back over to face him  
'I want to sleep' she whined  
'Well you don't have to face that way' he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist  
'You're so needy' she smiled  
'You know you love it' George winked  
'Yeah … course' she replied, making George smile.

-oOo-

'Come in!' Mrs Weasley exclaimed as George and Ashley turned up on the doorstep 'Bill and Charlie are in the kitchen, Ron and Hermione aren't here yet and Ginny and Harry are getting Teddy first'  
'Good to know' George smiled, before taking Ashley's hand and walking into the kitchen  
'Hello there, little brother' Bill smiled 'How've you been?'  
'Good thanks, you?'  
'Same really. Fleur's due in a few months, so she's not exactly happy'  
'Where is she?' Ashley asked  
'She's with one of her old Beauxbatons friends, she'll be here later though'  
'Cool' Ashley smiled  
'So, how long have you two been?-' Bill asked, nodding towards their hands  
'Erm … since the beginning of June?' George said, looking towards Ashley for confirmation  
'Yeah, June' Ashley smiled,  
'How did I not know sooner?!' Bill exclaimed  
'Well we figured you'd know, considering at the funeral I snogged her face off'  
'Well, you did that quite a lot before, didn't you?' Bill smirked  
'Get lost' George grinned  
'So' Ashley said, aiming to change the subject 'What are you going to name the baby? Any ideas yet?'  
'Victoire if it's a girl, Louis if it's a boy.'  
'Sounds sweet, Fleur picked the names, right?' she grinned  
'However did you guess?' Bill smiled, 'She said she was picking the names and I got to decorate the room...which I so badly wanted to do'  
'Course' George smiled  
'What about you then?' Bill began, a look of humour in his eyes 'Come up with any names? Figure it can't be long before you two have one, woulda thought you've talked about it'  
'I have to erm … go' Ashley said quickly, before walking away  
'Yeah, what was that? Sorry, Bill, I think mum just shouted me' he said, walking out quickly, leaving Bill sitting there with a smirk plastered on his face. George walked into the other room and saw his mother talking to someone at the door  
'Mum? Who is it?'  
'It's erm - Amos and Cedric, your father invited them'  
'Oh.' George said, 'Well, I won't stop them'  
'are you sure, dear?' Mrs Weasley asked  
'Yes mum, I'm sure' George smiled, to which Mrs Weasley opened the door wider, letting Amos walk in, a few seconds later Cedric slowly walked, looking slightly ashamed at seeing George. Mrs Weasley and Amos walked into the kitchen, leaving Cedric and George in the room alone  
'Cedric' George muttered  
'George, I – er, wanted to apologise about before, I don't know what came over me. I want you to know that everything I said about – her, wasn't true. I don't like her, least not in that way anymore. I'm pretty sure someone slipped something into my drink, and I wanted to apologise for that as well' he said, pointing to where George's bruise had been before  
'It's alright' George said, laughing slightly 'On both accounts, I'm pretty sure I did some damage to you as well' he said, adding a smile on the end  
'Yeah, just a little' Cedric laughed. George heard a slight noise of a movement behind him and turned his head to see Ashley leaning against the door frame, smiling  
'Well, when your mum told me both of you were in here, I didn't quite expect this scene' she laughed  
'What exactly were you expecting?' George asked  
'I thought that one of you would be bleeding profusely,' she smiled 'Or both' she added as an afterthought  
'Well, we were actually having a civil conversation' George smiled, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arm around her waist  
'I'm actually surprised. So, you don't hate each other now?'  
'Well, I don't hate him' Cedric said  
'I don't hate him either' George said  
'Thank god. Me and Bill were just coming up with a plan for how to keep you separated' she laughed  
'Well, you no longer have to do that' George grinned 'Right, I need to talk to mum for a second, see you in a minute' he added, kissing Ashley quickly and walking out  
'So, you two officially dating now?' Cedric smiled  
'Indeed we are, after all the bloody drama'  
'Again, sorry about causing some of that' he said, 'Like I was telling George I thi-'  
'Think someone slipped something into your drink' Ashley finished for him, smiling 'I heard that part'  
'Well, I'm just glad he believe me. I half expected for him to be more annoyed at me if I'm honest' Cedric said. It was quiet for a few seconds before Ashley spoke up again  
'So, how long are you staying?' Ashley asked  
'Not long, I think dad just wanted to say something and then we're off again,' he said, then frowned slightly at something behind Ashley, she turned her head and saw an Extendable Ear slowly making it's way around the door, she turned back to Cedric, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.  
'So … Cedric, you know how there's that Christmas tradition of kissing under the mistletoe?' she said, giving him a look that said play along  
'I know of it' he smiled, resisting the urge to laugh  
'Well, I can see from here that there's some mistletoe hanging directly above your head … and, well, it'd be a shame to break tradition, don't you think?' she smiled, a second later George walked quickly into the room, a mixture of hurt and anger on his face,  
'And that, George, is why eavesdropping is not a good idea' Ashley grinned. George looked between the two and realised that it had all been an act, that he, George Weasley, had been played by none other than his girlfriend. Although this didn't seem to erase the look on his face, at seeing this Cedric quickly left the room. Ashley took a step towards George  
'George?' she asked  
'You are evil' George said, he began walking towards her until her back had hit the wall, he was less than an inch away from her  
'Why?' she said, her voice barely above a whisper  
'Messing around with me, not funny, Ash.'  
'George -' she began, but couldn't continue due to the fact that George suddenly began kissing her forcefully  
'Wait,' Ashley asked, breaking away from the kiss 'Me tricking you, turns you on?' she smirked, George simply shrugged in response, before grinning and grabbing her hand. He took a few steps back and pulled her with him  
'I want you to come down to the Orchard with me for a minute, alright?'  
'Alright …' Ashley said, frowning slightly, letting George pull her out of the back door, noticing the looked that passed between him and his mother. She chose to ignore this, thinking little of it. The two walked slowly down to the Orchard, she noticed that the closer they got, the slower George walked and the more nervous he looked  
'George?' she asked, squeezing his hand 'What's wrong?'  
'Huh? Oh, nothing' he said quickly, far too quickly for anyone not hiding something  
'Well, I don't believe you.'  
'Didn't think you would for a second, love' George smiled,  
'At least you know me well' she grinned  
'Considering how long we've known each other, if I didn't know everything about you I'd have to have been pretty oblivious'  
'And you're not now?' she smiled,  
'Hey!' he argued,  
'You know I love you'  
'I do' George grinned. At this point the two had reached the Orchard, George suddenly looked nervous all over again  
'Okay, you have to tell me what's wrong … I'm getting worried' Ashley said  
'Just wait a second, alright?'  
'Alright …'  
'I need to ask you something, but I don't exactly know how to make it sound persuasive'  
'Just ask me' she smiled, which seemed to make George relax for a second, he took a deep breath, then grabbed Ashley's shoulders and positioned her in the right place  
'Right … er-' he said, swallowing a lump in his throat,'willyoumarryme?'  
'What?' Ashley asked quietly, her eyes widening  
'Ashley Ariana Redford, will you marry me?' he asked, pulling a small black box from his back pocket, he opened the box and presented it to her, Ashley clapped her hands over her mouth as the words he had said sunk in. She then came to the realisation a few seconds later that she hadn't answered yet,  
'Oh shit, yes!' she said quickly, smiling she held out her hand  
'Great reply' George smirked, rolling his eyes before placing the ring on her finger, at a closer look Ashley noticed that it was beautifully simple, it was a single diamond in the middle, with two sapphire stones, one on either side of the diamond  
'George, it's beautiful' she said, clasping her hand over her mouth again  
'Well then it matches you' he smiled, before blushing a pink colour  
'I love you!' Ashley said, jumping slightly whilst wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning towards him, causing their faces to be less than an inch apart  
'I love you too' he said against her lips, before kissing her  
'So, I guess my plan from when I was younger is working out' Ashley smiled  
'What do you mean?' he asked, frowning slightly  
'Well, when I was younger, I always said I would have a baby and get married by the time I was 26.'  
'That seems like an odd order to place it in …'  
'Well considering the situation right now it has to be that order' she said quietly  
'Wait, what?'  
'Well … erm …'  
'You're … you're …'  
'I'm?'  
'You're pregnant?'  
'Technically …' she said, 'Listen, I know you're probably not exactly thrille-'  
'It's bloody brilliant' George smiled  
'Really?'  
'Really. It's great, now we're kinda like a family'  
'Kinda like?' Ashley smiled 'We're engaged and I'm pregnant, I'm pretty sure that means we're a proper family'  
'Good' George smiled  
'Well, who'd have thought George Weasley would be engaged and have a kid on the way before he was even 21'  
'Me' he smiled, then leant forward and kissed her again 'By the way, you do realise that was the worst way in the world to tell me that you were pregnant?'  
'Well it was either that or write it on a piece of parchment, give it to you and then run away' she laughed  
'Why would you run?'  
'Nervousness … it's rather difficult telling someone something when you're not sure whether they would react in a good or bad way'  
'Well, it's rather difficult asking someone something when you're not sure whether they'll say yes or no' George smiled, 'Luckily for us, both things went well'  
'Indeed they did'  
'Bugger, what time is it?'  
'Er- … I wouldn't know why?' She smiled  
'Well we'd better go back anyway, if we're late for dinner mum will kill me'  
'That was another thing I wanted to ask, does your mum know?'  
'Know what?' George asked, before realisation hit him 'Oh, yeah, she does … I asked her for advice'  
'That's sweet' she smiled, as the two began walking back up to the Burrow.

* * *

So, here :3  
There's one chapter left, but I have another one that I might post if people want me too?  
If you do, pleeeeease tell me in a review for this chapter or the next one (Or both if you love me ;) )

Anyway, thanks for reading :3


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The second George and Ashley walked through the door Mrs Weasley practically ran over and looked at them expectantly, Ashley complied by lifting up her hand and showing Mrs Weasley, who smiled widely  
'Congratulations!' she said, before embracing Ashley in a bone-crushing hug  
'Thanks, Mrs Weasley' she said,  
'Who's congratulating who?' Ginny asked, entering the room  
'You will all be congratulating us' George grinned  
'Why?' she asked,  
'We are engaged' George smiled, wrapping one of his arms around Ashley's waist and pulling her into his side  
'Really?! THAT'S BRILLIANT!' she yelled, before running over and pouncing on Ashley 'You're going to be my sister! Although you kinda were before'  
'Yeah, I am.' Ashley smiled, before this information dawned on her 'Oh god, I'm gaining about 6 brothers and a sister'  
'4 brothers…' George corrected,  
'No, 6. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ron, Harry and Fred' she smiled, then looked over at Ginny, who had gotten engaged a few months prior, at mentioning this the younger girl smiled. Ashley then looked up at George, who was smiling (which probably had something to do with her including Fred)  
'So, where's everyone else?' George asked  
'Kitchen' Ginny said 'Well, Phlegm isn't here yet'  
'Oh no…' George said sarcastically, before he smiled and walked into the kitchen with Ashley - where everyone seemed to turn to face them the moment they walked in. Mrs Weasley had obviously told everyone that there was some form of good news, but she hadn't told them what it was  
'So…what exactly is this good news?' Charlie asked  
'Yeah, we've been sitting here for about 5 minutes trying to figure it out' Bill said  
'Technically you haven't even known for 5 minutes' Ashley smirked, causing Bill to roll his eyes  
'Yeah, yeah, whatever - just tell us, would you?' Ron butted in  
'Well' Ashley said, looking at George  
'Really? I have to tell them?'  
'They're your family, George!'  
'They'll be yours soon!' he said quickly, then realised what he had said '...Ah, at this point you probably already know'  
'Congratulations little brother!' Bill said, whilst Charlie clapped him on the back  
'Who'd have thought the immature one would be the second to get married?' Charlie smiled  
'Third most probably' Ginny cut in 'There's no way they're getting married before us'  
'You're on, little sister' George grinned  
'Hold on, I just remembered something' Ron said  
'Who knew Ron had the brain capacity to remember things' Ashley smirked, causing Ron to glare at her  
'Anyway - as I said before, I just remembered something'  
'And what's that, little brother?' George asked, wrapping his arms around Ashley from behind  
'Fred said that you two would get together at Christmas' he said, causing Ashley and George to smile.

-oOo-

'George, Ashley, want some Firewhiskey?' Bill asked whilst they were sitting at the table, continuing to hold out two bottles  
'Yeah' George and Ashley said in unison, both taking a bottle. Ashley lifted the bottle to her lips and took a sip,  
'Ash, you're not meant to drink' George whispered in her ear 'Remember?' at this, she immediately spat the drink back out into the bottle, before gaining curious looks from the entirety of the Weasley family  
'I erm - I don't like drinking…' Ashley said, hoping they would believe her  
'That's a lie, you were off your face at the funeral' Charlie said,  
'OH MY GOD!' Ginny squealed, obviously realising why she had done it…which was a lot more than the men had done, as they were currently sitting there looking completely dumbfounded…well, all the men other than Bill, who was currently grinning  
'Good job, little brother' he said, smirking.  
'Shut up' George said, blushing  
'Are you going to name it after me!?' Ginny squealed again  
'Wait, she's pregnant?!' Ron said suddenly, glancing between her and George 'But don't you have to have … y'know to-'  
'Yes, Ronniekins' George said, grinning 'You do' he added, winking  
'So you two have-' Ron began, awkwardly  
'Yes, a lot' he winked again  
'George!' Ashley said, slapping his arm  
'What?! It's true!'  
'Doesn't mean you tell people!' Ashley exclaimed,  
'So' Ginny began, changing the subject 'I bet mum and dad will be happy'  
'Yeah' Ron said, turning to Harry  
'Definitely' he said awkwardly

-oOo-

After everyone had eaten, and all the presents had been opened, mostly everyone was sitting in the main room; Harry and Ron were playing exploding snap, Ginny and Hermione were talking about babies and weddings, Bill, Charlie and George were drinking whilst talking about something and Percy had gone home as it was "getting late". Ashley, however, had decided to walk outside. She slowly made her way down towards the lake and sat on the floor, regretting not having bought a jacket with her. She stared out towards the lake for at least half an hour before the silence was broken  
'What on earth are you doing down here?' George asked, 'You realise how bloody cold it is right?! What about the baby!'  
'George, calm down, I doubt coldness can effect anything' she smiled  
'Still …' he said, then sat down next to her and took off his jacket, placing it over her shoulders, before wrapping his arm around her. She then continued to rest her head on his shoulder 'I'm sorry about what I said earlier'  
'It's fine, George, it doesn't matter' Ashley said, smiling  
'Promise?'  
'Promise' she grinned, and he kissed the top of her head  
'So, why are you out here?' he asked  
'I like it down here'  
'Doesn't explain why you had to come out at midnight in the freezing cold'  
'it looks nicer when there's snow everywhere'  
'It does, but you should have come in the day when you're able to see'  
'Why?' she frowned  
'I don't want anything to happen to you, or him' he said  
'Ah, so it's a boy is it?' Ashley smiled  
'No idea, maybe. Not that I'd mind either way'  
'I can imagine it being a boy…I'm not sure why…'  
'Ash?' George asked suddenly  
'Yeah?'  
'If it is a boy…'  
'Yes?'  
'Could we er – name him Fred?'  
'Of course' Ashley smiled, then froze for a second  
'What's wrong?'  
'Oh god it had better not be twins - I've already looked after twins, I don't need to go through it again' she said, causing George to laugh, then lift her head up and kiss her.  
'Come on, we better go back, they're probably wondering where we are … and I don't want you staying out here any longer, you're bloody freezing' George said, standing up  
'Probably' she replied, then held her hands up 'Pull me up?'  
'Lazy!'  
'Shush' she smiled, as he pulled her up. He was about to pull her away before she took her hand from his  
'What?' he asked, looking at her, he got no reply, she cocked her head to the side then wandered over to a tree near the lake, he slowly followed after her. Ashley walked over to the tree and saw that, in fact, something had been etched into the bark, she frowned and tried to read it  
'George + Ashley' she murmured, turning around and seeing George stood behind her 'It has a heart around it' she said, causing him to turn a vivid pink colour that was still very visible in the dark  
'Course it does' George said, sounding embarrassed.  
'It's sweet' she smiled, wrapping her arms around him, he proceeded to kiss the top of her head 'So, when did you do it?'  
'Er – technically it was Fred…but it was in our third year?' he said, quietly. Ashley stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on his cheek 'You missed' he grinned, to which she rolled her eyes, he looked at her then leaned forward and kissed her.  
'So, Fred thought we would be together in third year?'  
'Everyone did - Ash'  
'Yeah, but if Fred thought it...'  
'Yeah' George said, giving her a slight smile  
'Anyway, it's cold, let's go' she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back towards the house. When they walked back into the Burrow - there was no one in sight,  
'I'm guessing this means go to bed, right?' George smirked  
'Presumably so' she smiled, as George took her hand and led her into his bedroom, where he immediately rolled into his bed and pulled the covers up to his neck 'George, you realise you're still dressed, correct?'  
'One sec' he said, then started fumbling with something under the covers, before a pair of jeans were chucked out of the bed and a shirt  
'Really, George.' she smirked, rolling her eyes  
'I took my clothes off, you like?' he winked  
'Get over yourself' she smirked, before getting undressed herself and getting into the bed,  
'Merry Christmas, Ash' George muttered, kissing her nose  
'Merry probably boxing day, Georgie' she smirked  
'Had to ruin it'

* * *

One more chapter and then it's all over.  
Yup.  
So, please review and thanks for reading!


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

**7 Years Later**

'Ash. Ash. Ash. Ash. Ash' George said, poking her face  
'This is like deja-vu of every Christmas since forever' Ashley groaned, causing George to laugh slightly 'By any chance is it 6 in the freaking morning?' she added, opening her eyes  
'4 actually' George said, winking at her before a grin broke out on his face  
'Git' Ashley muttered, before rolling over again  
'Do you not know the routine by now, love? You've had 7 years practice'  
'Hmm I'm not sure, you may have to tell me again' she smiled into the pillow  
'Well, first off you turn over' he said, at which point she turned over 'Then I kiss you' he added, before leaning down and kissing her 'Then you try to turn back' at this point she tried to turn back over 'But then I stop you and you fall asleep in my arms', he turned her back over and pulled her into him  
'You're adorkable' Ashley smiled  
'Adorkable?'  
'Yes, Dorky and Adorable at the same time'  
'Please, I'm full on adorable and you know it' he said, adding a wink  
'Keep on dreaming, Georgie' she grinned, at which point George's mouth dropped open into an O shape  
'You don't think I'm adorable?' he pouted, before making a puppy dog face  
'Nope. I think you're ugly and icky and stupid' she said, trying to keep a straight face  
'I think we've gotten past the part where you can fake not liking me, love' George smiled  
'Aww' Ashley pouted 'When did that time go?'  
'About the time we got married' George grinned  
'Ugh. Why did I marry you' she groaned, before a smile crept onto her face  
'Now that's mean!' he smiled, before leaning down and kissing her again '…You don't really regret it, do you?'  
'Of course not you muppet! If I really regretted it do you think I would have had Alexa after the twins? I love you, idiot'  
'I knew you didn't regret it, I just wanted to hear it' George grinned 'and I love you too'  
'Good, now we've had that far too early discussion, can I please go back to sleep?'  
'Of course, love' George smiled, kissing the top of her head. However, the second Ashley closed her eyes…  
'MUMMY! DADDY! IT'S CHRISTMAS!' identical ginger boys yelled, running into their parents bedroom and jumping onto the bed, shortly followed by a younger girl with brown-ish ginger hair.  
'Ugh' Ashley groaned into George's t-shirt, causing him to smile  
'Yes, it is Christmas' George said, 'Fred, Remus, Alexa; if you don't go back to bed right now, you won't be getting any presents', at his last words, the children's blue eyes went as wide as saucers, and they quickly jumped off the bed and ran quickly off to their own rooms  
'Harsh but well done' Ashley murmured  
'That's what you keep me around for' George smiled  
'That and other reasons' she laughed 'But wake me up at 4a.m ever again and I'll murder you. It's not even light out yet!' she said, pointing towards the curtains in their room  
'Would you rather have been woken up by me, or by children screaming "MUMMY! DADDY!"' George imitated, a grin on his face  
'Probably the children; they have an excuse to be immature, they're children' she smirked  
'Really? I think I'd rather be woken up by you' he said, kissing her cheek  
'Don't act like you don't love the daddy thing, George' she joked 'Whenever you're in a bad mood all one of them has to do is say the word daddy and you're practically hyperactive and smile-y again' she smiled  
'I do love it, I'm not going to act lik-'  
'Daddy' a small voice interrupted, both Ashley and George turned around to see Alexa standing in the doorway, a teddy bear tucked under one arm whilst she rubbed her eyes with the other hand  
'What's wrong, Lex?' George spoke softly, sitting up and facing the young girl  
'I had a nightmare before and now I can't sleep' she said, changing the teddy bear around in her arms and hugging it into her chest  
'Come here, then' Ashley said, holding out her arms, causing Alexa to run over, jump up onto the bed and lie down in between George and Ashley, pulling the covers over herself  
'You comfortable there?' George smirked, as she pulled the covers off him  
'Yes, thank you' she grinned, causing George to roll his eyes and pull the covers back over himself, making Alexa glare at him  
'Daddy!' she scolded  
'Yes, midget?' he smiled  
'Daddy!' she frowned, 'I'm not a midjeet...what's a midjeet?'  
'A very very short person' George said, smiling at his daughter  
'I'm not a short per-' Alexa began  
'Right, children' Ashley interrupted 'It's time for sleep, because mummy is very tired and if Lex doesn't go to sleep she won't get up' she muttered, slamming her head down into the pillow  
'Well, as much as I hate to admit it, mummy's right' George said, 'You need to go to sleep, Lex'  
'Okay' she said, quietly - which was mainly due to the fact that her eyelids were already drooping 'night..' she managed to say, before passing out against George's arm  
'Such a daddy's girl' Ashley joked  
'Guess she chose the best parent then, didn't she?' George winked, before leaning forwards and kissing her lightly 'Just kidding, love you, Ash'  
'Love you too, even though you are an arse' she smirked,  
'So loving' George murmured, though he was practically asleep himself  
'Just go to sleep, Georgie' she smiled  
'Mhm' he murmured back, before his own head hit the pillow. Ashley couldn't help smiling at the both of them, fast asleep and leaning on each other. She leaned up on her elbows and kissed George's cheek, causing a faint smile to appear on his lips.

-oOo-

'Fred! Remus! Would you stop trying to trick your sister!' Ashley yelled at the two boys who were currently outside the Burrow with their sister, James, Rose, Teddy, Victoire and Louis. The 8 of them were running around in the snow; and it looked as if Remus and Fred were trying to convince Alexa of something, though it wasn't clear what 'I have absolutely no doubt that they are related to you' Ashley said to George, smiling  
'You doubted it before?!' he exclaimed  
'Well...no' she smirked,  
'Good' he grinned, then craned his neck down and kissed her.  
'Ugh, could you try not eating each others faces off? People eat in this room!' Ron said as he was walking in, causing Ashley to turn and face him  
'Shut it' George smirked, wrapping his arms around Ashley's waist and placing his chin on the top of her head  
'Um...Ash?' Ron asked, frowning  
'Yeah?'  
'I think Fred's eating a worm or something…' at this Ashley looked out the window and saw Fred holding a worm near his mouth whilst Remus was cheering  
'Yeah, no doubt' she said to George, then yelled 'FRED! DO NOT EAT THAT! Bloody hell'  
'Hey, me and Fred never ate worms' George said, whilst he and Ashley sat opposite Ron on the kitchen table  
'What are you on about, Daddy?' Fred asked, wandering into the room with Remus  
'Your Uncle'  
'Which one?' Remus asked  
'Fred' George said  
'That's me!' Fred said  
'How can you be your own uncle, stupid!' Remus said  
'So Fred isn't me?' Fred asked, cocking his head to the side and frowning in confusion  
'No, he's your other uncle' George said,  
'We have another uncle?' Fred asked, making George and Ashley smile  
'Yeah, you have Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Percy, Uncle Fred, Uncle Ron and Uncle Harry' Ashley said  
'But your favourite is Uncle Ron' Ron said quickly  
'Nahh-' Remus began  
'Uncle Charlie's our favourite-' Fred continued  
'He teaches us about-' Remus added  
'Dragons' they both said, grinning  
'So, Uncle Charlie's your favourite?' Charlie asked, grinning whilst walking into the kitchen and sitting next to Ron  
'Yeah! Then Uncle Bill-' Fred smiled  
'then Uncle Harry' Remus continued  
'Cause he tells us about adventures' Fred grinned  
'Then Uncle Ron-'  
'He's usually too busy with Auntie Mione'  
'Then Uncle Percy's last-'  
'Last time we saw him-'  
'He made us learn about-'  
'The ministry' they both said, sticking their tongues out  
'Bloody hell, George' Charlie said, looking at his brother 'They could be you and Fred'  
'How come we never met Uncle Fred?' Remus asked, causing Ron and Charlie to glance at George and Ashley, the latter of whom was also looking at George.  
'Well, erm' George began, clearing his throat 'Your uncle died before you were even born'  
'Was he your twin, daddy? Like Remus for me?' Fred asked, walking over and sitting on George's knee, whilst Remus sat on Ashley's  
'Yeah, he was' George smiled  
'Do you miss him?' Remus asked  
'Of course' George began 'Everyday', at saying this Ashley looked at George and smiled slightly  
'Did mummy know Uncle Fred?' Fred asked  
'She did' George smiled 'In fact, me, mummy and Uncle Fred were best friends since before we were your age'  
'Really?' they both asked  
'Yeah, they were' Charlie smiled  
'Would we have liked Uncle Fred, daddy?' Remus asked  
'Yeah, you'd have loved him; he liked pranks, just like you did. Knowing him, he would probably have helped you prank everyone'  
'Even mummy?' Fred questioned  
'Yes, even mummy' George grinned  
'Even though she was his best friend?' Remus added  
'Yes, even though they were best friends. See, mummy was best friends with uncle Ron, but we used to play pranks on him all the time' George said  
'Wicked' they both smirked, at this Ron, Charlie and Ashley's eyes widened as they looked at George, who was grinning  
'George?' Ron asked  
'Yeah?'  
'Don't let them play pranks on Rose, would you?'  
'Or Victoire and Louis … I know enough about Weasley pranks to know that Bill and Fleur would both flip' Charlie smiled  
'So that leaves Alexa, Teddy and James' they both grinned  
'No!' Ashley warned  
'Fine' they groaned  
'We'll just wait-' Fred began  
'Until we get to Hogwarts' Remus grinned  
'No!' Ashley warned  
'But mummy!' they whined  
'You need to do schoolwork when you get there, boys' she smiled  
'Alexa can be smart, we'll just do pranks' Fred grinned  
'Why does that sound exactly like something you used to say to mum about Ginny' Ron smirked, looking towards George  
'I have raised them well' George joked  
'Ahem, **we** have raised them well' Ashley said, raising her eyebrows at George, as Alexa ran into the room, the ends of her hair changing colour - from it's natural brown, to purple, to red, to blue, back to natural  
'Did her hair - ?' Charlie began, frowning  
'Yep' George said  
'And neither of you are - ?' Charlie said again  
'Nope' George smirked  
'Unbelievable' Bill said,  
'Awesome, though' Ashley added, as Alexa sat on the other side of her knee  
'Muuummy' she moaned  
'Whaaat?' Ashley imitated  
'I wanna open my presents!'  
'Well you'll have to wait, little one' she smirked  
'I don't wanna wait!' she said, crossing her arms across her chest whilst pouting  
'Think she got Ash's temper' Ron smirked  
'Shut it, Ron' Ashley glared, whilst George nodded at Ron, causing Ashley to look at him and smack his arm, smirking.

-oOo-

Soon after their conversation, everyone had sat down to eat. Although as soon as they had finished eating the children had ran off to open more of their presents, Alexa in the lead and running the fastest. Whereas most of the adults had taken to sitting in the kitchen and talking, although after a few hours people had begun to leave, meaning the only people that were currently left in the kitchen were George, Ashley, Bill and Charlie (along with Fred, Remus, Alexa, Victoire and Louis, who were in the Living room - most probably asleep at this point)  
'I just have to say this again,' Charlie began 'How are Fred and Remus so much like you and Fred used to be?'  
'No idea' George said 'Are they really that much like me and Fr-'  
'Yes' Bill interrupted, smirking  
'Let's just hope one of them doesn't lose the other then' George said, causing Ashley to squeeze his hand under the table, making George look at her  
'They won't.' she reassured him  
'She's right, mate' Bill said 'What happened before-'  
'Won't happen again, yeah, I know' George ended  
'Let's just erm – change the subject' Charlie said  
'So, Alexa's a metamorphmagus, right?' Bill said  
'Apparently - although maybe it'll just be the hair thing' Ashley replied, 'Though I have no idea where she could have gotten it from; I don't think there's anyone on my side...'  
No idea' George muttered, though he seemed to be more interested in one of the walls, Ashley frowned at him, but before she could say anything, Bill spoke up;  
'Bloody hell' he began, whilst he was looking at his watch 'Fleur wanted me home an hour ago with the kids, I have to go'  
'What time is it?' Ashley asked  
'2:30' Bill replied, then quickly stood up and walked into the other room, he came back in carrying an asleep Louis while holding a tired looking Victoire's hand. 'See you all tomorrow/today probably' he said, then disapparated.  
'We should probably go as well' Ashley said 'They've been awake for almost a day'  
'Right' George said 'You go get them and I'll stay here?'  
'Lazy' Ashley muttered, but stood up and walked into the Living room all the same. George took a final swig of the Firewhiskey, then placed the empty bottle on the table and made a move to get up  
'I have a question, George' Charlie asked  
'Yeah?' George asked, sitting back down again  
'How did you end up this lucky?'  
'What?' George frowned  
'I mean, you're married to the girl you've fancied since you were, what, 5? you've got 3 bloody amazing kids, 2 of which are exact replicas of yourself and your brother and the other is the cutest little girl in the world and will probably grow up to be one of the smartest in the family – but don't tell Bill or Ron I said that…you've got people who love you no matter what…I guess I'm just happy that something turned out right for you after all the shit you went through before with the war and then all the shit that happened with Ash...I guess everything worked out for you'  
'Yeah, I'm definitely lucky to have them, I don't think I'd even know what I'd do without them - I can't even imagine being without them' George said, smiling to himself as Ashley walked into the room  
'George, we have a minor problem' she stated, sighing slightly  
'Merlin, what?' he asked, swiveling his head around to face her  
'They're all asleep and I am definitely not able to carry 3 children - I can barely carry 1'  
'I'm not asleep!' Remus said, running into the kitchen and grabbing Ashley's hand, leaning against her side to stop himself falling over from tiredness  
'Well you shouldn't have pretended then' Ashley said, smiling down at the boy 'And by the looks of you, you should be asleep. Anyway, George, help me!'  
'Right…see you tomorrow, Charlie' George said, 'and thanks'  
'For what?' Charlie frowned  
'Reminding me of what I've got and how lucky I am' George smiled, taking Ashley's free hand  
'What are you on about?' Ashley frowned  
'Nothing' Charlie smiled 'Anyway, see you lot tomorrow'  
'Yeah … see you tomorrow' Ashley replied, frowning slightly, but couldn't say anything to Charlie due to the fact that she was then dragged into the living room by Remus and George,  
'I'll take Fred, you gonna take Alexa?' George asked,  
'Alright' Ashley said, taking her hand from George's and walking over to the youngest of the three children, she let go of Remus's hand for a second, then lifted Alexa up from the sofa, holding her on the side of her hip. She turned back to Remus and saw that he had gone, looking up and at George she saw him holding Fred, but looking towards the door leading from the Living room to the outside area, where Remus had his hands and nose pressed against the glass and was looking towards the Orchard  
'What's wrong?' Ashley asked  
'I just saw something in the Orchard!' Remus said, at this George and Ashley exchanged glances 'It looked like Daddy' he added, a tone of confusion in his voice.  
'Maybe you think you saw it' Ashley said quickly, then walked over and took his hand  
'Floo or Apparate?' she asked George  
'Floo's probably easier, less chance of them waking up to throw up' George smirked, then walked towards the fire  
'Take Remus with you as well?' Ashley asked  
'Sure…are you alright?' George asked, frowning slightly  
'Yeah, I'm fine' Ashley smiled, then let go of Remus, who ran towards George. A few seconds later they were gone, leaving Ashley and an asleep Alexa. She slowly walked towards where Remus had been standing a few minutes ago and looked out. There was absolutely nothing that she could see, though the fact that it was dark didn't help with that at all. A few minutes later she heard a noise behind her, but chose to ignore it, until she felt someone take Alexa off her and turned to see Charlie,  
'I'll take her back…George is probably wondering where you've gone'  
'Thanks' Ashley murmured, as Charlie began to walk away 'Hey, Charlie?' she questioned, turning to face him. He stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face her  
'Yeah?'  
'What exactly did George thank you for?'  
'We were just talking about you and these three' he said, nodding towards Alexa; who was completely knocked out. 'And I just said that I was glad it all worked out for him after...you know what happened, and then what happened with you afterwards; the kid went through a lot in a short space of time, so I'm glad now that everything's fine, and he's got four amazing people in his life' Charlie smiled  
'Thanks, Charlie...'  
'No problem; I feel the same towards you - Fred was practically your twin brother' he joked 'And somehow I doubt being kidnapped didn't have an affect on you'  
'Not as much as you'd think' she smiled 'But thanks, again.'  
'Again, it's no problem' he smiled, before he. too, wandered over to the fire and disappeared from the room. As soon as he had gone Ashley walked outside and towards the Orchard, she wandered around for a while, looking everything over in detail, before sighing. Fred definitely wasn't here, and she shouldn't have been so stupid as to get her hopes up in the first place. She wandered around some more, wandering to the part of the Orchard where George had proposed. She stood in the exact spot for about 5 minutes, just remembering the time 7 years ago. It felt weird, thinking about the fact that Fred had been gone that long, and yet it was still completely obvious that no one was over it; no matter how hard anyone tried to convince themselves, or mainly George. There was a sudden breeze that sent a shiver up her spine, causing her to pull her sleeves over her hands, however before she could proceed to zip up her jacket; she felt someone's arms wrap around her.  
'You alright, love?' George asked  
'Yeah…why?'  
'Well, I don't really need to explain why I think something might be wrong, do I?'  
'I supposed you don't, no' Ashley sighed, 'Wait, who's with-'  
'Charlie, but he said he's got to go in about 5 minutes…which was 2 minutes ago'  
'Oh, alright' Ashley muttered, causing George to flip her around to face him then kiss her 'What was that for?'  
'I need a reason?' he grinned 'Anyway, let's go back up to the house. It's bloody freezing out here'  
'Okay' Ashley said, as George locked his fingers between hers and they walked back up to the house. However, before they stepped into the fire George stopped her  
'You sure you're alright? I know what Remus said -'  
'George, I'm fine, I swear.'  
'If you're not it's fine, I know you're scared that I might freak out or some-'  
'George, sweetie' she began, stepping closer to him 'I'm 27 years old, I know when I'm fine and when I'm not; I promise you that I am completely fine'  
'Alright...but you'd tell me if you weren't, right?'  
'Of course I would, but I promise I'm fine - so can we just go?' she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the fire. They emerged in the flat above WWW's (which now had another bedroom added on), where they were immediately greeted by Charlie saying bye and disapparating. Fred and Alexa were now asleep on the sofa, leaning against each other, whereas Remus was sitting next to them, swaying backwards and forwards slightly, his eyes half closed.  
'If we each take one of the twins, then one of us can come back for Alexa' Ashley whispered, as she kicked off her shoes and went over to Remus, picking him up slowly, an action which was slowly followed by George, only with Fred, who's head had lolled onto George's shoulder at this point. They reached the boys bedroom and placed the children in their beds, just as they were about to leave Remus spoke up  
'Mummy?'  
'Yeah?' Ashley asked quietly  
'Can I ask you something?'  
'Alright' she smiled, then turned to George 'you can go and put Alexa to bed'  
'Joys' he muttered, then smiled and walked out. Ashley walked over to Remus and sat on the bed next to him  
'What's wrong?'  
'You know how Fred's named after Uncle Fred and then has Daddy's name as his middle one?'  
'Yeah...'  
'Well, does that mean he's more important than me? Because he's named after daddy's brother and I'm not?'  
'Of course it doesn't' Ashley said, then stroked his hair back 'He's no more important than you, in fact, you're named after someone who was related to me and then your middle name is the same as mine and daddy's old friend'  
'Really?'  
'Yeah, really' Ashley smiled 'His name was Remus and he was kind of my cousin _(A.N No idea if that works, because Remus's parents were never mentioned that I can recall… but whatever, it's possible now)_ and he died in the war, so you're named after him. Then me and Daddy have a friend named Lee Jordan, who we've known since we were younger'  
'But does that mean Fred's more important to daddy? Because Uncle Fred was his brother?'  
'Definitely not. I promise you're just as important as Fred'  
'Good…what about Alexa? What's her middle name?' Remus said  
'Well, Alexa's middle name is Ginny, after your Auntie'  
'Ohh yeah' Remus smiled, then lay back in bed 'Night, mummy'  
'Night, Remus' Ashley smiled, kissing his forehead, then standing up and walking into her own bedroom, where George was lying and staring at the ceiling, seemingly not focused on anything.  
'Geeeeeeeorgie' Ashley grinned, then jumped on the bed, landing next to him, lifting herself up so that she was leaning over him  
'Yes, love?'  
'Remus is a lot like you, you know'  
'How?'  
'Well, when he wanted to talk to me just, he pretty much asked me if Fred was more important than he was, because he's named after Fred.'  
'So…how does that make him like me? I always knew I was more important' George winked, causing Ashley to raise her eyebrows  
'No…you acted like you did. You always used to think I preferred Fred to you'  
'…Maybe I did' George admitted, looking away from Ashley, who turned him back to face her then leaned down and kissed him 'So, Remus is like me?'  
'I think so…I mean, I just had to convince him you cared about both of them equally'  
'Let's just hope he doesn't grow up like me then'  
'What do you mean?'  
'Y'kno, losing his twin or anything'  
'You are seriously worried about that, aren't you? I promise that nothing is going to happen to either of them, or Alexa.'  
'I guess you're right' George said 'Anyway, we should probably sleep, we need to go back tomorrow as well, so sleeping in probably isn't allowed'  
'Probably not' Ashley smiled, then jumped off the bed and grabbed a pair of PJ's, got undressed and pulled the sweatpants and t-shirt on, quickly getting in the bed as soon as she was done, getting as close to George as possible, causing him to chuckle.  
'Could you get any closer?' he murmured  
'Well it's freezing cold' she said, holding onto the front of his shirt.  
'This help?' he questioned, wrapping an arm over her waist and pulling her further towards him  
'Definitely' she smiled, tilting her head up and kissing him lightly  
'I love you, Ashley' he murmured into her ear 'I'm glad you chose me out of everyone'  
'I love you too' she said quietly 'And there was never any other option, Georgie. Never.'

* * *

So...yeah, this is it. Last chapter.  
I tried to write this in as much detail as possible; but I'm still pretty sure I've messed some parts up, but hey, I tried my hardest :)  
PLEASE tell me what you think by reviewing, considering this is, well, the last chance I get to moan about reviews ;)  
Anyway, thanks to any of you that have read ALL 33 chapters (I very much hope it was worth it) and thanks for sticking with the story, it really means a lot :3  
Charlotte x


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